Kyle XY Season 4
by lavalamp49
Summary: Continues where the Season 3 finale left off. Kyle and Jessi are faced with their most dangerous challenge yet as they finally confront Latnok.
1. Brother against Brother

**When I finished watching Kyle XY I couldn't be satisfied with how the series ended with the cliffhanger and that no more episodes would be adding to the story. I'm writing this story to give myself some closure, but I would be happy if other people enjoy what I write as well. Just as a heads up, I may be neglecting the story arcs having to do with the Trager family and their friends in order to focus more on Kyle and Jessi and their conflict with Latnok. Other than that, I will try to keep this as true as possible to how the show's writers would have progressed had there been an actual Season 4.**

**I do not own Kyle XY.**

* * *

_From the moment I first awoke in the woods, my greatest journey was one of self-discovery. For people brought into this world in the traditional manner, all the answers are simple. They know who they are, where they came from, and what they're capable of. At first I knew none of these things about myself, but my quest for the truth led me to the answers. But this was nothing like discovering my connection to Adam Baylin or Jessi. The revelation that Cassidy was my brother and Grace Kingsley was my mother made me feel something new altogether… something I can only describe as 'shock'._

Kyle's grip on Cassidy's neck lessened somewhat although his fingers still tightly gripped the older man's throat. Cassidy's long dark hair was pinned between his head and the wooden frame of the broken glass doors. His feet moved fruitlessly back and forth as Kyle held him suspended off the ground. Even though Cassidy was losing breath quickly, he remained focused on Kyle's rage-filled eyes.

"You're lying," Kyle finally said.

_I don't know why I said it. Even with Cassidy's heart racing from the struggle, I could tell whether or not his body's physiology would change in response to telling a lie._

"You can't… deny it," Cassidy managed to choke out the words. "You know… that I'm telling you… the truth. Grace Kingsley… is your… is our… mother. And she wants… she wants…"

"What does she want from me?" Kyle angrily demanded.

Cassidy's mouth opened, but no more words came out. His eyes slowly rolled over as he succumbed to the lack of air.

Kyle's eye's widened as he finally realized what he was doing. He immediately ended his death grip on Cassidy's neck and let him fall to the ground. There was the crunch of glass on the wooden deck as Cassidy collapsed.

"Cassidy?" asked Kyle. There was no response.

_I knew that Cassidy's heart was still beating, but he was unconscious and he was injured. I still had many questions, but the question I had to focus on now was what to do with Cassidy. Even if he was my brother, this was a man who threatened to hurt everyone I care about. I couldn't just let him go free, but what other options were there?_

Kyle paced down the porch, still not averting his gaze from the unconscious Cassidy. After a moment, he took out his cell phone and dialed a familiar number. After a few rings, a man answered.

"Hello?"

"Foss, it's Kyle. I need you to come see me right away. It's an emergency."

"Tell me what happened."

"It's Cassidy. He saw through our lie and he's here with me now. He's knocked out but he will be awake soon."

"I knew that this was too big a risk, Kyle. I told you how dangerous these people are. You had a chance to be free from them, but now that's all over."

"I didn't have a choice. We had to destroy any information that could allow them to restart the experiments. It's done, but he found out that Jessi's still alive. Please Foss, I need your help."

"I'm already on my way. Don't move." Foss hung up.

As Kyle closed his cell phone, he slowly looked up at the night sky. For a moment he took in the view of the stars and the sounds of crickets. As he finally caught his breath, the weight of what he had just done donned on him. Kyle had never felt such rage before, nor had he ever hurt anyone to such an extent.

"Kyle!"

Kyle turned around to see two girls staring at him through the broken doorway. One was tall with dark hair and the other was shorter and blonde.

"Jessi! Amanda!"

Jessi's eyes widened at the sight of Cassidy's unconscious body, but otherwise she retained her composure. Amanda opened her mouth as if to gasp in horror and disbelief at the sight, but no sound came out. She then looked back up at Kyle.

"Amanda…" Kyle stepped towards her but she flinched slightly as he neared the doorway.

"Kyle… what happened?" asked Amanda.

"I can't say right now," said Kyle. "Amanda, I know you have a lot of questions and this must all seem very confusing to you, but I need you go home. It is isn't safe for you here."

Kyle expected Amanda to react with jealously since she was asked to leave and not Jessi, but instead she stared back into his eyes and slowly nodded.

"I understand."

"I'll explain everything. I promise."

Amanda slowly managed a very slight smile.

"I know you will, Kyle."

With that, Amanda turned around and walked away, leaving Kyle and Jessi alone. Jessi had subtly rolled her eyes at Amanda's comments, but now her eyes were fixated on Kyle's. Her mouth opened slightly in anticipation, not knowing if his thoughts were still on Amanda.

"Jessi, I was so worried about you!"

Kyle leapt forward and embraced her with an enormous hug. Jessi put her arms around his back and rested her head on his shoulder. She closed her eyes as she let herself feel his heartbeat.

"You were worried about me? You were the one who had to break into the warehouse."

"Cassidy found out we faked your death. You weren't here when I got home. I didn't know what had happened."

Kyle finally let go of Jessi and the two stood face to face.

"We discovered something," said Jessi. "Nate had some old files on his computer—files about you."

"About me?"

"Yes. I didn't believe it when I read it at first, but your egg donor…" Jessi paused and tilted her head to the side. "You already know."

"Cassidy told me. Grace Kingsley is my biological mother."

"And you and Cassidy?"

"Brothers," Kyle said the word slowly, not liking the way it sounded. He paused for a moment then looked back up at Jessi and winced. "Does Amanda know?"

Jessi felt a slight lump in her throat but she tried to hide it. "She peeked over my shoulder, but even if she read it, she wouldn't have understood."

Kyle nodded. "I'm sorry Jessi. You've done so much for me and there's so much that needs to be said, but right now we need to figure out what to do with Cassidy. Nicole, Stephen, Lori and Josh are at the Rack right now, but they'll be back soon."

"It looks like you already dealt with Cassidy," said Jessi as she walked over to his unconscious body. "I'm impressed."

"He won't be out for long. And I can't let him go. He said he'd hurt my family and everyone I care about if I don't do what Grace Kingsley's wants."

Jessi turned her head back towards Kyle, her eyebrows arched. "So what are you going to do with him?"

Kyle's eyes narrowed. "Jessi, I don't like where this is going."

"We may not have a choice," said another man's voice.

Kyle and Jessi turned to face Tom Foss who had let himself into the house. Both of his hands were on his pistol, which he had loaded and aimed at Cassidy's skull.

"Foss!" yelled Kyle. "What are you doing?"

"The same thing I've been doing all along. Protecting you."

"Stop! He's my brother!"

Foss glared at Kyle, his aim still squarely on Cassidy. "He won't stop until he has you where Latnok wants you and he'll do whatever it takes to you or those you love to get you there. I have to do this, Kyle. Just like I had to get rid of Kern."

Foss squeezed the trigger, but as he did, he felt the gun being flung out of his hand with a telekinetic blow from Kyle. The handgun went off in midair, narrowly missing Foss and shattering a lamp. All three frantically ducked out of the way as the shot went off. An uncomfortable silence filled the room as Foss turned angrily back to Kyle.

"You could have killed me, Kyle! Would you rather that I die instead of Cassidy?"

"We're not doing this that way!"

"Then how?" yelled Foss.

Kyle looked back at Jessi who met his eyes with an anxious stare.

_I knew that Jessi would agree with Foss. After all, Cassidy did kill her mother. But Jessi would have to trust me on this one. Cassidy was my brother and there was still so much I needed to learn from him_.

Kyle turned back to Foss. "The warehouse where we used to train. Is it still safe?"

"Yes, for now."

"I want you to take Cassidy there. Make sure he doesn't escape."

"You're asking me to watch him for you?"

"No," said Kyle. "Just take him there. Once he's secure, I'll look after him. Foss, I need you to come back and watch over my family. Latnok will figure out that he's missing. Once they do, they will send people and the Tragers will be in danger."

Foss took a long breath, looked at Cassidy and then back at Kyle.

"You know I'm taking another awful risk for you."

"I know."

"But I'm trusting you, Kyle. The same way I trusted Baylin."

Kyle nodded to Foss, who then walked over to Cassidy and hoisted him onto his shoulders. Before Foss walked out the door, he turned to Kyle one last time.

"You know where to reach me." And with that, Foss stepped outside and shut the door behind him.

Kyle walked back over to the shattered glass door. There were traces of blood along the wooden planks of the deck. They would have to be cleaned before his family returned.

"Kyle…" he felt Jessi's hand on his shoulder. He slowly turned around to face her. Her eyes nervously looked up to face his. "Kyle, are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Jessi," Kyle looked into her eyes and paused. "I have no idea what I'm doing. I just wanted to live a normal life… like Josh or Lori or Declan. I thought that this would be over by now. I wasn't prepared for this."

"Come on Kyle," Jesse smirked. "You're better than any of them. Both of us are."

Although uneasy, Kyle couldn't help smiling back a little. "Jessi, I know I can trust you. You're the only one like me—you've always been the only one who could help me stop Latnok. Can I count on you to help me protect the Tragers until this is all over?"

"Does that mean… not telling them what happened here?"

Kyle slowly nodded. "For now. They're already in danger. Knowing the truth about Grace Kingsley and Cassidy could make them even bigger targets."

Jessi nodded back. "I understand."


	2. The Prisoner's Dilemma

_I remembered the first time I lied to my family after my visit to the Zzyzx compound and when I lied again after returning to the Tragers from staying with Adam Baylin. It hurt me to keep things from them and I know it hurt them too, like when I missed Josh's Birthday party. But Foss had insisted that lying was necessary to keep them safe. I always had doubts that the Tragers would actually be in danger from knowing the truth, but Cassidy's threatening words had confirmed everything Foss had told me. It was time for me to lie yet again._

"Kyle… what happened?" Nicole stood in front of Kyle and Jessi along with the rest of the Trager family. Stephen stood alongside his wife, eying Kyle with a stern yet confused look. Lori carefully eyed the broken glass beneath her feet as she inched closer to Nicole.

Kyle's face lit up with a smile, not quite as brightly as usual, but still enough to convince his family that things were all right. "It's over. I distributed the bacteria to every tank and destroyed every piece of data that could help them restart the experiment. Everything went just as we planned."

"Oh thank God!" Nicole hugged Kyle as she let out a huge sigh of relief.

Josh stepped forward with his arms out in disbelief. "Uh… hello? I thought we were asking about… oh, I don't know… maybe that big pile of broken glass that used to be our back door?"

"Oh, that was me," Jessi said nonchalantly. The Trager family stared at her, but she just scowled back mockingly. "What? I didn't do it on purpose. I was testing my abilities. I tried moving the lamp with my mind and got a little carried away."

"A little carried away?" asked Josh. "Great. Just what we need. I guess it was only a matter of time before one of our friendly neighborhood superbrains decided to start blowing up parts of our house."

"Josh!" Lori glared at her little brother.

"Look Jessi," Stephen began. "We're glad that everyone is all right. But you were supposed to be laying low. That was not a good time to be 'testing your abilities'."

"I'm sorry," Jessi rolled her eyes. "It won't happen again."

Nicole turned back to Kyle who gave her a reassuring look. "I wanted to meet all of you at the Rack after I was finished," he said. "But I felt like something was wrong when Jessi broke the door. I had to come back here first to check on her and make sure everything was all right. I'm sorry I didn't get back to you sooner."

"It's ok Kyle," Nicole responded. "I'm just glad that no one was hurt."

Kyle nodded while Nicole gave him a look of motherly concern.

"Now it's late," she said. "I'll call the glass company in the morning, but right now you should be getting to bed. You've had a big day and it must be a lot to process. You need your rest, Kyle."

* * *

Jessi lay awake on her bed with her lamp on. She looked longingly at Sarah's old Latnok ring, which she wore on her finger, the light from the lamp glistening on its perfect red stone. Her eyes suddenly shot up as she felt the presence of someone at her door.

"Kyle?"

Kyle opened her door and walked in, slowly closing behind him as to not make a sound. "Hi Jessi."

"You can't sleep either."

Kyle nodded and walked over to her bed. "I just got a call from Foss."

"What did he say about Cassidy?"

"He's awake, but he's not going anywhere. He hasn't spoken a word since he woke up."

Jessi shrugged. "Damage to Broca's Area in the brain's left hemisphere when you choked him could have impaired speech function." She looked back up at Kyle. "I'm kidding. I know he's your brother."

Kyle sat down on the bed beside her. "He's not my brother. Josh is my brother. Cassidy is… I don't know. We may share DNA, but he's not my family."

"Then what stopped you?"

"From killing him?" Kyle's eyes wandered off. "I'm not sure."

Kyle looked back towards Jessi and noticed the ring on her finger.

"You're wearing Sarah's Latnok ring."

Jessi nodded. "Nate had it in his room when Amanda and I broke in. It doesn't belong to him."

"It looks good on you, like it was meant for you." Jessi smiled at the comment, but Kyle returned a look of concern. "But I don't think you should wear it."

Noticing a defiant scowl from Jessi, Kyle quickly clarified himself. "That's not what I meant. I'm not talking about you and Sarah. I'm talking about this." Kyle held out a small, white device.

"What's that?"

"It sends a pulse of electricity to any nearby Latnok ring and stuns whoever wears it. It's just like the one they used to kidnap me after the prom. This is the one Cassidy had earlier tonight."

Jessi took the tiny weapon from Kyle and studied it carefully. "And you let it get you?"

"Jessi, it was very powerful. I'm not sure what it would do to a normal person, but it was enough to cause me great pain."

"If it's just electric charge then you should have been able to absorb it. Even if it's not, there's nothing we can't adapt to."

"I wouldn't assume that," Kyle eyed Jessi with concern until she finally nodded. He put his hand on hers to reassure her.

"So what are you going to do with Cassidy?"

"I'll go by the warehouse tomorrow. I need to find out from him what Grace Kingsley wants from me."

"Kyle," Jessi held his hand tightly. "I should go with you."

"Jessi, this is something I need to do alone. I know you hate him for what he did to Sarah, but I can't let that interfere with things right now."

Kyle had said the words slowly, knowing how strongly Jessi felt for her mother. He didn't want to upset her by bringing up the subject, but Jessi seemed to be all right as she nodded slowly again.

"It's not Sarah. I'm worried about you, Kyle."

"Me?"

"I know what you did earlier tonight. Cassidy got to you, and I'm afraid of what will happen if he gets to you again."

"Jessi…" Kyle moved closer to her and Jessi put her arms around him, not wanting to let him go. Kyle ran his hands across her smooth, dark hair reassuringly as he held her close.

"I already lost my mother. I don't want to lose you too." Jessi tried to hold back her tears.

"I'll be careful, Jessi. I promise."

* * *

The next morning Amanda sat at her piano playing the song that she had played the day she met Kyle for the first time. Even though she didn't realize it, lately she had been playing that song a lot more often than usual. It reminded her of a time when things with him were simple. A time when Kyle was nothing but pure and good. Before the secrets and lies began. Before Jessi entered their lives.

"Amanda."

She turned around to see Kyle standing in the room with her.

"Hi Kyle," she softly said with a smile.

"You were playing that song."

Amanda shrugged. "I guess I like that song."

Kyle nodded. "I do too."

For the moment the two of them said nothing. Amanda continued to smile, hoping to reassure him that she was ready to hear whatever he had to say, but Kyle still looked concerned and apprehensive of the conversation they were about to have.

"You helped Jessi last night," Kyle broke the silence. "I wanted to thank you for helping us delete the files."

Amanda nodded but her smile had faded. "I saw her do things. Things that I only thought you could do." Amanda paused. "She's like you… isn't she?"

Kyle didn't respond, but the look he gave Amanda told her that she was right.

"And that's why she's so important to you—isn't it?"

"Amanda, it's more than just that."

Amanda looked down, keeping Kyle from making eye contact with her. "She's like you… and I don't know what 'like you' even means."

"Amanda," Kyle walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder. He didn't continue until Amanda finally looked back up at him. Her eyes were red and watery. "I promised that I would tell you everything when the time is right. I think that now is that time."

She sniffled. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Let's go to your room. We can't let anyone hear us."

"Ok." She said it softly with a nod as she stood up.

"And I need you to promise me that you'll never tell anyone any of this. I'm already taking a risk by telling you. You can't let anyone know that you know my secrets or you may be in great danger."

"I promise." Amanda spoke without hesitation.

Kyle and Amanda sat in her room for what seemed like hours as Kyle finally revealed his story to her. He told her about Adam Baylin and how he grew up in the pod before he was born. He told her about Zzyzx, MadaCorp, and Latnok. He told her about his discovery of Jessi and how they had helped each other from time to time. He told Amanda the truth about prom night and the secrets he kept from her afterwards. Amanda's listened intently the entire time, showing neither happiness nor anger at this new information.

"Amanda, I know that the person I am is very different from the person you thought I was. And I know that I kept things from you that I shouldn't have. If you can't forgive me, then I'd understand."

Amanda's face finally lit up with her smile. "Kyle… of course I forgive you."

Kyle's face also lit up with his usual big, dumb grin. "You do?"

"Yes," Amanda said with a small laugh. "This whole time I kept telling myself that there was no possible explanation for why you were kissing Jessi that one time. If any other guy told me that he was 'practicing the transfer of electricity through kissing' in order to help me, I'd call it complete garbage. But with you… I know you're telling the truth. And I feel awful for not listening to you when you tried to tell me back then."

"Most guys can't manipulate electric charge."

"You know what I mean, Kyle. I'm just so glad it's all clear now. I was being so paranoid. I really thought that you actually had feelings for Jessi."

Kyle's huge grin faded at Amanda's words. Noticing this, Amanda's smile went away too.

"You do have feelings for Jessi."

"Amanda…"

"How long have you felt this way about her?"

"I don't know," Kyle truthfully said. "Until recently I didn't even realize how I felt about her."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Amanda angrily snapped.

"Amanda, please calm down."

"Calm down?" Amanda stood up. "Have you even seen the way Jessi acts? She's a psychopath! You shouldn't be with someone like her!"

Kyle stood up too, his eyes filled with anger. "Don't talk that way about her! You don't understand what she's been though."

Amanda stared at Kyle with a look of disgust and disbelief as she slowly shook her head. "I was going to tell you that I wanted to get back together. Come to your senses while you still have that option."

Kyle stepped back and opened her door, looking back at Amanda one last time. "I have to go."

* * *

It was later in the afternoon and the sun was beginning to cast long shadows on the wall through the skylight of the old warehouse. Kyle pushed open the doors to see Cassidy sitting on the floor, tied to one of the wooden support beams. Foss hadn't been messing around. His waist and both his feet had been chained to the beam with a set of iron shackles Kyle had never seen before.

As Kyle walked up to Cassidy, he could see that he was wearing the same clothes that he had worn that last night, although they were covered in dirt and stained with his blood. Cassidy showed no reaction to Kyle's approach and simply kept staring at the dirty ground in front of him.

"Foss said you weren't talking."

There was still no response from Cassidy.

"If you won't talk, then listen. I brought you something." Kyle took out a water bottle along with something wrapped in plastic and threw them at Cassidy's feet. "That's a turkey wrap I picked up from the Rack. I figured you would be hungry."

Cassidy didn't take the food. He continued to blankly stare at the ground as Kyle stood there.

"Aren't you at least thirsty?"

Still no response.

_Although Cassidy was calmly sitting there, I noticed that both his heart rate and his body temperature were slightly higher than usual._

Eyeing Cassidy closer, Kyle noticed that he kept one of his arms tightly tucked to his side, as though he were hiding it.

"You have a laceration eight millimeters deep across your right forearm," said Kyle. "Your body is already showing signs of infection. If I bring you bandages, a suture kit, and antibiotics for you to treat it, the wound will heal. Otherwise you'll begin to experience dizziness and you'll notice your fever becoming much worse. Your limb could become gangrenous in a matter of days."

Cassidy finally looked up at him. "What is it you want from me, Kyle?"

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't come all the way here just to threaten me into speaking. You must want something."

"I want you to stay away from my family!"

Cassidy shot Kyle a puzzled look. "I'm all tied up here, mate. There's nothing I can do either way, your bloke Foss made sure of that."

"Then tell me what Grace Kingsley wants with me!"

"I told you already. Your mother wants you at Latnok. She could use you to accomplish great things."

"What great things?" Shouted Kyle. "What is she trying to do?"

"I don't know, Kyle. There are some things that she won't tell even me."

_There was a sudden change in Cassidy's heart rate as he said it. He wasn't lying, but mentioning that his mother kept certain things from him was difficult for him to say._

"You're afraid you failed her… aren't you?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Cassidy's eyebrow's arched as he stared back at Kyle.

"Grace Kingsley… our mother… she favors me over you as her son because of my gifts." Kyle eyed Cassidy with an intense, almost sympathetic stare. "That's why you did all this to me. You had to prove to her that you could help Latnok just as much as I could."

Cassidy turned his head back to the ground, smiling a grin that showed all of his teeth as he shook his head. "No, you see, that's where you're wrong, mate. You really don't understand. I'm better than you are, better than you ever will be. And I don't need to prove that to anyone."

"What do you mean?"

Cassidy glared back at Kyle. "You're a computer, Kyle. A bloody machine. You store data. You solve math problems. That's all Latnok needs you as and that's all you'll ever be good for." His face lit up again with the same malicious grin. "And myself? I know how to get things done. You may be an asset, but I'm the one who can and will acquire you for Latnok and whatever purpose them deem fit for you."

_I could feel my heart rate and body temperature rising as I tried to fight back the rage. As much as I had been disturbed at my own actions earlier, as much as I did not want to let that anger control me, I found myself unable to tolerate Cassidy's words. My fist involuntarily clenched at my side._

"You're wrong," said Kyle. "You don't have me. You're tied up and helpless."

"On the contrary, Kyle. A computer is only as good as its user. And I've figured out exactly how to get what I want from you. You'll do anything to protect the Tragers."

"And what are you going to do?"

"Oh, Not I. But by now my associates from Latnok will have noticed I've gone missing."

Kyle's phone buzzed in his pocket as he received a new text message. He held up the phone to see it was from Foss. Three stars.

Cassidy grinned again. "Now you'd better get going, mate."


	3. Man in Black

_ I had told Foss to protect my family and the message he sent me was three stars, a cue that he needed my help. He hadn't taken the time to call me and explain the situation, which meant that something could have gone terribly wrong._

Kyle raced through the streets of Seattle with the speed of an Olympic sprinter. The sun was starting to set and it would soon be nighttime. Not having any patience for the remnants of rush hour traffic, Kyle bolted across a busy street, effortlessly sliding across the hood of a speeding car in the process. Before the driver could even respond with an angry honk, Kyle had already disappeared into an alley and was leaping over crates and dumpsters.

_Jessi had promised me that she would also help me protect the Tragers. If something had happened to Jessi, I would be able to feel it. I had let myself get distracted when I was with Cassidy, but now that my mind was free, I could sense that something was wrong. She wasn't hurt, but she was in distress._

Kyle rounded the last corner of the block and started down his home street. He had barely made it ten yards when a man wearing all black bumped into him.

"I'm sorry," Kyle quickly muttered.

"It's about time you showed up." Kyle stopped running and turned around to see Tom Foss.

"Foss! Is everyone ok?"

"Everyone's fine. For now."

"What happened?"

"There was a van full of Latnok henchmen. Armed. They would have made it to your house too if I hadn't been there to stop them."

"Henchmen?"

"I took cover behind a tree before they could open fire on me. That's when I sent you the message. Then Jessi showed up and took care of them. They all fled and it will only be a matter of time before the cops show up."

Kyle finally caught his breath as he was overcome with relief and gratitude. "Thank you Foss."

"Kyle, just ten minutes ago I got into a firefight in the middle of a suburban neighborhood. You realize that we can't have that happen."

"I know."

"There's only so much that you or I or Jessi or anyone else can do to protect them. Your family is not safe here, Kyle."

Kyle's eyes narrowed as he stared at Foss. "I can make this right."

"Well then you had better do it fast, Kyle. It only took them a day to target your family after Cassidy went missing. There's no telling how soon they'll return."

* * *

There was indeed a white van in the middle of the road. It had been toppled over somehow with its wheels suspended in the air off to the side. As Kyle walked closer he could see a logo inscribed on the back for 'Tony and Rob's Dry Cleaning', an obvious cover-up. Jessi stood on the sidewalk near the trashed vehicle, smiling with satisfaction.

"Hi Jessi."

Jessi turned to face him with a boastful grin. "Kyle! Do you like what I did?"

"You did this?"

"Foss was pinned down behind a tree and he needed my help. When I focused, I was able to push over that van from all the way across the yard. They never even saw me."

"How did you move something so big?"

"It's metal. I induced a magnetic field strong enough to topple it."

Kyle smiled. "That was clever."

Jessi smirked back. "I know."

"And there are none of them left?"

"They all stumbled out and ran the other direction."

Kyle stepped closer to Jessi and put his hand on her shoulder. "Thank you for protecting them, Jessi."

Jessi nodded. "They're my family too, Kyle." She paused for a moment. "How did it go with Cassidy?"

Kyle's smile went away. "Not good. He couldn't tell me what Grace Kingsley wants from me. And he made it clear that the Tragers would be in danger as long as I don't give in to Latnok."

"He's trying to manipulate you, Kyle." It was difficult for Jessi to say. "I know what that's like. You can't let him do that you."

"I know. But Foss told me that Tragers wouldn't be safe here unless I did something about Latnok."

"Then what are you going to do?"

_There didn't seem to be any options available. I knew how Foss would have handled Latnok. He didn't have any problem killing Professor Kern or firebombing Zzyzx when my life was in danger. Now that I faced a similar situation, I began to wonder if Foss had the right idea all along. His actions were the only reason I was able to safely return to the Tragers in the first place._

"I don't know, Jessi."

Kyle suddenly turned his head to the side, looking towards the Trager house.

"Kyle? What's wrong?"

"Are you sure all of the henchmen from Latnok left?"

"Yes, why?"

"I hear an unfamiliar heartbeat. It's near our house!"

Without wasting another second, Kyle and Jessi bolted in the direction in of their home.

"Circle around the house!" shouted Kyle. "You go right, I go left."

Kyle raced through the side of his backyard across from Amanda's house. It was dark, but Kyle could still hear the stranger's heartbeat. It was elevated as though adrenaline was pumping through his veins. Following the sound, Kyle looked behind the backyard trees.

There stood a man wearing a black coat and holding the scope of a rifle to his eye. Before he could take the shot, Kyle grabbed the gun with one hand and shoved the man to ground with the other. He then snapped the weapon in half as though it were made of plastic.

Kyle turned back to the house to determine the intended trajectory of the rifle. Through the window, he saw Nicole, sitting on the couch and reading her book. Kyle gritted his teeth in anger.

The would-be killer stumbled to feet and started to run away, but Kyle didn't let him get far. Turning to face him, Kyle squeezed the blood vessels in his brain, just as Jessi had done to Cassidy. Crippled with pain, the man fell back to the ground with his hands on his head.

"Tell me what she wants from me!" Kyle demanded.

"I don't know what you're talking about," the stranger barely managed to get the words out through the pain. "I was given my orders and I followed them."

"You stay away from here!"

There was nothing more that Kyle could get from the hit man, but he had no sympathy for the one who almost shot Nicole. Kyle continued to twist and bend his arteries, leaving the man helpless and agonizing.

"Kyle?"

Kyle looked up to see Amanda, who had wandered over to see what all the noise was. Her mouth was open as she stared in horror at the sight.

"Amanda!"

With Kyle distracted, the hit man jumped to his feet and ran away from Kyle as fast he could. Kyle just looked back at Amanda, doing nothing to stop his escape. Kyle finally began walking towards her, but Amanda stepped back.

"Stay away from me, Kyle."

"Amanda please, just listen."

Amanda slowly shook her head as she nervously took another step back. "You're scaring me."

With that, she turned around and ran back towards her house. Kyle felt a lump in his throat as he heard her door slam shut behind her.

_I didn't like the person I was becoming any more than Amanda did, but Latnok left me with no option. Nicole, my mother, the woman whose warmth and acceptance changed everything for me, could have been killed tonight. I would never be able to forgive myself if she were harmed, and in that moment I realized that I had to do whatever was necessary to prevent that from happening. But as long as Grace Kingsley remained the power behind Latnok, the possibility still existed. I knew what had to be done._

Kyle once again took off running and disappeared into the night.

* * *

Cassidy hadn't moved from his previous position. He sat on the floor with a button he had pulled off his shirt, slowly scratching at the concrete floor to pass the time. Suddenly he heard the warehouse doors swing open and looked up to see Kyle coming in.

"Back so soon, Kyle?" Cassidy casually asked. "I hope the Tragers are alright."

Ignoring his comment, Kyle walked over and tossed a red case at Cassidy's feet. "That's a first aid kit. I figure you know how to use it."

Cassidy reached for the supplies "You're not carrying through with your threat to let my arm rot off I take it."

"I came to tell you I'm ready to go to Grace Kingsley."

Cassidy looked up at Kyle with wide eyes. "Well then, that's wonderful news, mate. Now how about you give me a hand with these chains."

"That's not how this is going to work. You're going to give me the location where I can find her. Then I will go and talk her—alone."

Cassidy slowly nodded. "And then?"

"I'll agree to give her what she wants if she promises that Latnok will never go anywhere near my family. Only then will I return to free you."

For a moment Cassidy stared at Kyle, not changing his expression. "Very well. You'll have your way. She'll be in the building where your girl Amanda was taken after your prom. Top floor."

Kyle nodded. "I'll be back for you soon."

"Take your time, mate. I'm just glad you're finally willing to give Latnok what it needs."

Kyle gave Cassidy an intense stare. "I'm not going to give Latnok anything."

"But you just said…"

"I know what I said." Kyle paused for a moment as Cassidy gave him a puzzled look. "As long as Grace Kingsley is alive, my family is in danger. And I'm choosing their lives over hers."

"What are you saying, Kyle?"

* * *

Jessi watched from the window as the flashing red and blue lights of police cars reflected across the glass. Several policemen wandered cluelessly around the toppled van, shining their flashlights at every corner of it. Jessi smirked to herself. She found it amusing that no matter what she did, no one would ever be able to trace anything back to her—that is, unless she wanted them to.

"Oh, hi Jessi." Nicole walked into the room. "Have you seen Kyle?"

Jessi looked over at her. "I think he's out. Why?"

"I'm just wondering where he is. He'll be late for dinner."

Jessi shrugged. "I'm sure he'll be back soon."

Suddenly, Jessi felt a strange feeling come over her. She looked upwards, her eyes staring off into the distance. She had a look of dread, as though something had gone horribly wrong.

"Jessi? Jessi, what's the matter?"

Jessi looked back at Nicole with wide eyes. "Kyle!"

* * *

"You were right about one thing." Kyle glared at Cassidy with anger. "I would do anything to protect the Tragers."

"I don't understand," replied Cassidy. "Why would you ask me for Grace Kingsley's location if you aren't going to go find her?"

"I am going to go find her." Kyle paused one last time. "And when I do, I'm going to kill her."


	4. A Cry in the Night

_Even with ordinary people, heightened emotions can correspond to heightened abilities. As I had learned over time, this applied a thousand-fold to me. When experiencing something like fear, excitement, or love, my mind was able to push my body to new limits. The emotion this time was my anger towards Grace Kingsley and how she would have murdered Nicole had I not been there to stop her. The corresponding ability in this case was my agility and stamina._

Kyle blitzed through the streets of downtown Seattle in the direction of the Latnok facility. He had been running a lot that day. Just an hour ago he had sprinted home to protect his family after getting a message from Foss. Even someone like Kyle would normally have been exhausted at this point, but his fatigue melted away the more he focused on his anger. The lights of restaurants and bars became blurs as Kyle sped by them even faster than before.

_With heightened emotion also comes loss of control. I had shattered a skylight when arguing with Foss. I had overloaded the lights when I kissed Jessi. I was scared to think what would happen to me this time, as rage was an emotion unfamiliar to me. I hated what the anger had done to me and desperately wanted to make it stop, but too many thoughts were bouncing around inside my head. There was the overwhelming fear of harm coming to the Tragers. There was the defiance against Cassidy's taunts and my need to disprove his claim that he could control me. There was the disappointment in losing Amanda's trust once again, and how that made me realize I wasn't the same person I was before. And there was my desire to live a normal life with a family, and knowing that because of Latnok that dream could never be a reality. As much as the old Kyle never would have believed it, all these things came together in my mind to convince me that killing Grace Kingsley was the only option and I couldn't convince myself otherwise._

As he ran, shop lights began to flicker and burst, car alarms went off and manhole covers began to shake and rattle on the road. Kyle didn't notice any of these things. He could only run and focus on the task that lay ahead.

* * *

As dinnertime neared back at the Trager household, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Lori shouted over her shoulder as she walked to the door. She opened it to see a young man with short dark hair and glasses.

"Mark!" Lori smiled and involuntarily ran her hand through her hair. "We were about to have dinner. What a nice surprise."

"Hi Lori." Mark tried to peer over her shoulder. "Is Kyle home?"

Lori scowled. "Nice to see you too, Mark."

"Sorry Lori. It's just that Kyle wasn't at U-dub today and I really wanted to talk to him about something."

Lori shrugged. "Kyle has been gone all day. I don't know where he is. Oh, and I can guarantee you that he won't be going back to U-dub."

"Jessi wasn't there today either." Mark paused and adjusted his glasses. "And neither was Cassidy. No one's heard from him."

"That is odd…" Lori gave a puzzled look.

"Listen. I ran into Kyle last night at a Latnok Facility. I know that something's up. Can I talk to Jessi maybe?"

Lori shook her head. "Jessi left half an hour ago."

* * *

As Kyle neared the industrial district of Seattle, the shops and businesses of downtown gave way to warehouses and old factories. The building where Latnok had brought Amanda on prom night wasn't far. The fear and desperation he had felt that night had left its mark on Kyle's memory. Every turn and every corner of every building stood out in his mind as he relived that last encounter.

Kyle ran through an alley, following a bright factory light in the distance he saw from the other side. Suddenly, he saw the silhouette of a girl move into his path, standing between him and the distant glow of the factory. As Kyle slid to a quick stop, he squinted in the light to see who it was.

"Jessi?"

As she ran up to him with a look of relief, Kyle could see that Jessi's shirt was torn across the middle. "Kyle, I've been looking for you."

"What happened to your shirt?"

"I came running out of the house to search for you so fast that it snagged on the glass from the broken door."

"Why did you come looking for me?"

Jessi starred at Kyle with her eyes wide and her mouth slightly open. "I knew something was wrong and I had to find you."

Kyle sighed to himself as he arched his eyebrows. He couldn't let Jessi bring herself into this. "Nothing is wrong, Jessi." He looked deep into her eyes in attempt to convince her to listen. "Please, you need to go home now. I can handle this."

Kyle tried to walk around her, but Jessi sidestepped to block his path. As he bumped into her, Kyle felt her hand against his chest and her warm, worried breath on his neck. For a moment, his anger seemed to disappear with her touch—somehow amidst all his confusion he could feel some comfort—something he hadn't felt in a while. But reality sunk back in and his mission returned to the forefront of his mind.

"Jessi, please." Kyle's words became stronger as he stared at her even more intensely. "Step out of the way. You can't be here."

"I know something's wrong, Kyle." He could sense the fear and desperation in her voice as she fought back tears. "Maybe you're good at lying. Maybe you know how to keep things from Amanda, or Nicole, or even Cassidy, but I know you too well. You can't keep anything from me."

Kyle turned his head to the side in frustration as he stepped back from Jessi.

"Tell me what's going on, Kyle." Jessi raised her voice.

Kyle looked at her. "Grace Kingsley is in the building Latnok brought Amanda to after the prom. I'm finally going to set things right."

"What does that mean? How?"

There was a pause. "I'm going to kill her."

Jessi stared back at Kyle in shock as she slowly shook her head. She couldn't believe what she had just heard.

"No. No! Kyle you can't do that!"

"What other option do I have?" Kyle angrily shouted.

"I don't know, Kyle! Anything but that!"

"Do you realize Nicole could have been killed earlier today? Do you want that to happen?"

"No, of course not!"

A tear slowly moved down Jessi's cheek. Seeing this, Kyle calmed down, but he wasn't about to walk away.

"I thought this would be how you'd want me to handle it, Jessi. You're always urging me to me use violence when necessary."

"Kyle, listen to me!" Jessi shouted. "Maybe I've wanted you to fight before… but not this. You can't do this. You can't become a murderer! It will change you… in awful ways. Trust me on this, Kyle. You're too good for this."

"I'm too… good?"

More tears streamed down Jessi's face as she stared deeply at Kyle. "For a lot of people in your life, you've been the only constant source of good. They can't lose that, Kyle… I can't lose you."

"And would it be good of me to let Nicole die?"

"You can find another way. I know you can if you set your mind to it. Kyle, whatever they've done to you, whatever Cassidy said to you, I can tell it's changing you. But you can't let it."

Kyle could hear Jessi's heart beat faster as she reached out to him. He wanted badly not to let her down, but he couldn't stop now. "Well maybe this is more important than me. Even if I'm not the same person, the Tragers will be better off if you just let me do this."

"Kyle…"

"I'm going, Jessi. Go home."

Kyle began to walk past Jessi, but her hand shot up against his chest and blocked his way again. This wasn't the gentle caring touch he had felt just a minute ago. This time her hand was rigid and her block was forceful. Kyle turned back towards Jessi to see that the vulnerable, sobbing girl was gone. Jessi now faced him with an intense glare and her angry smirk.

"I can't let you do this, Kyle."

Using all his agility, Kyle swooped to her other side in attempt to bolt past her, but she blocked him again before he could get anywhere. He shoved her arm out of the way, but Jessi quickly brought her other arm around to block him yet again.

Unfazed, Kyle turned around and crouched to the ground. Using all of his strength, he mustered a massive jump that sent him soaring in the air. Kyle landed on the roof of the adjacent building with a thud.

Immediately, Kyle took off running across the top of the structure. He could see the other edge getting close and readied himself to jump back to the ground below. Suddenly, Jessi flew up over the edge and landed on the roof right in front of him. As Kyle skidded to another stop, Jessi brought her eyes up to meet his.

Jessi brought her hand up to deliver a telekinetic blow to Kyle and he brought his hand up to counter with the same. The two devastating forces collided in midair, creating a thunderous shockwave that echoed through the industrial park. Kyle and Jessi's gazes were locked as they both continued to push against the water molecules in each other's bodies. Both twisted their hands in the air and tried to push harder than the other, hoping to break the stalemate.

Finally it was broken by a sudden roundhouse kick from Kyle. His leg swung through the air with lightning speed at Jessi, but she was quick enough to block it. The telekinetic duel quickly turned into a bout of hand-to-hand skill.

Although a normal person would have to train for decades to even come close to their fighting ability, for Kyle it was a simple matter of mathematics and strategy. She would punch with a given velocity and distance from him, giving him the exact location and amount of time he would have to block or dodge. Then would be his chance to return a strike, keeping in mind that he needed to keep enough distance from her nearest fist so he would have time to block again once she countered. Knowing that Jessi could use the same methods he used, Kyle could calculate the next hundred moves that they both would make.

_Her hook to my right temple. Simple block with my left arm._

As Jessi swung at Kyle, he brought his arm up to push her attack out of the way.

_My jab to her forehead. She ducks out of the way._

Kyle's fist went for Jessi's head, but she dodged the attack.

_Her kick to my side. Catch with my left hand, but she breaks free._

Kyle caught Jessi's kick in midair, but she snapped her leg back out of his grasp.

_Power shot to her chest. She steps to the side._

Kyle's fist moved towards Jessi's torso with incredible force, but this time Jessi did not move. The blow struck her chest and rippled through her body as she fell back to the ground with the impact.

Kyle's eyes widened as he realized what he had done. "Jessi!"

Kyle quickly went up to her to see if she was all right, but Jessi lay there motionlessly. Kyle's punch had struck her in the heart and she had no pulse.

_There was no reason that Jessi should have been hit by my attack. She had more than enough time to step out of the way and she knew exactly how to counter. The only way I could have hit her…_

Kyle's eyes widened at his realization. "… is if she let me." He said the words out loud.

Kyle desperately looked back at Jessi as he held her in his arms. "Why did you do it, Jessi? Why didn't you dodge my attack? Please answer me!"

Jessi remained unresponsive. As he looked back and forth, Kyle knew what he had to do. He had restarted her heart before and more than anything he hoped that he could do it again.

Kyle kneeled down as he let her head rest on the ground. He put his hand over her heart, inadvertently feeling a spot of her bare skin through the tear in her shirt. He concentrated, focusing all his energy on getting her heart to beat again.

"Jessi, please don't leave me," Kyle pleaded as he fought back tears. "I can't do this without you. I need you now more than ever."

Still nothing. He wasn't sure how bad the hit was, but it was taking longer than last time to restart her heart. Kyle mustered every last ounce of strength he had, not caring about the damage he could cause himself.

"Jessi, you can't leave me."

Just as a tear began to roll down Kyle's face, Jessi awoke with a powerful deep breath.

"Jessi!"

"Kyle…" Jessi managed to say his name.

Overjoyed, relieved, and exhausted, Kyle collapsed on the ground next to her to catch his breath. As he turned to face her with his huge smile, Jessi slowly turned her head to him with her own smile, weak but content.

"Jessi, you're alright. I restarted your heart."

Jessi smirked at him jokingly. "It took you long enough."

_I can't explain how it happened, but in that moment, everything bad I was carrying inside me, all the anger, the rage, the hatred… just seemed to melt away. As I looked into her eyes, that comfort I had felt briefly before now enveloped me completely. For a moment I could forget about Latnok and everything they had done. All that mattered to me was that Jessi was safe and that I wouldn't be losing her._


	5. Innocence Lost

**There are several directions I'm thinking of possibly going from here, but I wasn't planning on this being a particularly long story. My goal is to wrap up the unfinished plot points left by the writers of the show rather than introduce new ones-hopefully effectively concluding an unfinished show. Still, this isn't over yet and I have plenty of ideas, so there are a number of ways this could turn out.**_  
_

* * *

_Some say that we are born into this world innocent and pure. We begin with only the best intentions, but the world we live in is harsh to us. Events shape who we become as we lose our innocence. Recently I had participated in deception, vandalism, and even violence. In the days and weeks following my birth from the pod, I never would have done anything like that. I remembered those times as I carried Jessi through the streets—it reminded me of that first night I carried a passed-out Lori home from Declan's party._

"Kyle, I'm fine. I can walk." Jessi calmly protested.

"Your heart wasn't beating just less than an hour ago," Kyle insisted. "I just want to make sure that you'll be alright."

Kyle cradled Jessi in his arms as he walked down the streets in the middle of the night. Clearly shaken by almost losing her earlier that night, Kyle held her closely as if he were protecting an infant. As much as being cradled by Kyle made her feel cared for, Jessi was far too proud to be babied and slowly became annoyed.

Jessi's shirt had become even more torn in the fight with Kyle, but he was careful to keep some of the remaining torn cloth between his arms and her torso. Every few steps, Jessi's body would slip slightly in his arms and he could feel her bare skin against his. Although he liked how she felt, Kyle kept readjusting—the resulting surge of 'electricity' through his body was still unfamiliar and confusing to him.

"You realize that even if you had caused any significant damage, I would have healed myself by now."

"Let's not take chances, Jessi. Your old apartment is much closer to our location than the Trager house. I can carry you the rest of the way and then you can rest for the night."

"Kyle, just put me down. I'll show you I can walk. Besides, you keep shifting me around."

"I'm sorry, I keep having to readjust. Your shirt—"

Jessi looked Kyle in the eyes. "What about it?"

Kyle paused for a moment. "Alright, I'll let you go." He slowly let her feet to the ground as Jessi stood upright. Kyle watched her for a few seconds, making sure nothing was wrong. "Do you feel ok?"

Jessi arched her eyebrows and shot Kyle a playful grin. "I'll prove it to you. I'll race you to my apartment!"

With that, Jessi shot off like a bullet away from Kyle. Although concerned at first, Kyle finally grinned and ran off after her, determined to beat Jessi at her game.

* * *

"Ha!" shouted Jessi as she barged through the apartment door a second before Kyle did. "I win!"

"I let you win," Kyle jokingly said as he closed the door behind them.

"Well, I let you win our fistfight on the roof back there." Jessi raised her eyebrows. "So, I guess we're even."

Kyle smiled. "I guess we are."

There was a pause for a moment. Jessi always loved the way Kyle smiled at her, but this time, for some reason, she felt nervous.

"Where do the Tragers think we are?" Jessi finally asked.

"I texted Josh that both of us would be out late at Preston's party."

Jessi gave Kyle a weird look. "That was stupid," she said. "Nicole's not going to be happy about that."

Kyle's eyes narrowed. "Would you rather I tell her the truth?"

"I don't know. Maybe you should."

"We'll tell them everything soon," Kyle assured her. "Just as soon as we've dealt with Latnok."

"And how will we deal with them?" Jessi asked slowly, afraid of the answer.

Kyle sensed her nervousness. "Not that way," he promised her. "I lost control, but I won't again—thanks to you. We'll figure it out tomorrow morning."

Jessi smiled and nodded with relief. "Ok."

She looked down at the torn remains of the shirt she was wearing. "I guess this shirt is done for."

Jessi walked over to the trash bin and pulled the shirt off over her head to throw it away. Kyle, not sure what else he was supposed do, nervously watched her out of the corner of his eye. The sight of Jessi wearing nothing above the waist except her bra made him feel the electrical charge run through his body again. He felt like he shouldn't stare, but he couldn't bring his eyes away from the smooth curve of her waist and her uncovered cleavage.

"Kyle? Is something wrong?"

"Uh… no." Kyle's eyes darted around nervously.

Jessi rolled her eyes jokingly. "You've seen me naked before, Kyle. Don't tell me this bothers you."

"It doesn't bother me." Kyle spat the words out before he realized the implications.

Jessi smirked, enjoying both Kyle's discomfort and the fact that he found her attractive. "Then would it bother you if I stayed like this?"

Kyle gave a confused look. "Stayed like what?"

Jessi shrugged. "I don't feel like putting another shirt on."

Kyle's heart began to race. He tried to hide his nervousness, but he knew that Jessi could easily read him. "Yeah… that's fine."

He looked around anxiously, hoping to come up with something that could get his mind off her perfect figure.

"Amanda saw me attack one of the Latnok henchmen." As soon as Kyle said it, he regretted it. Kyle knew that Jessi and Amanda hated each other. Why would he bring up Amanda after Jessi had just done so much for him?

Jessi slowly nodded. "What did she say?"

"She said I was scaring her," Kyle admitted. "Then she ran away. And I don't blame her."

"Well she's an idiot," Jessi said insultingly. "We both know you're better than that."

"Thanks to you." Kyle said the words intently as he stared into her eyes. Suddenly, it was Jessi whose heart rate elevated and whose breath quickened.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"You believed in me when no one else did. You believed in me when I didn't believe in myself."

Jessi stared back into Kyle's eyes. "You did the same for me, Kyle." Then she jokingly smirked. "So, I guess we're even."

Kyle didn't laugh or smile at Jessi's comment—he just kept gazing at her longingly. "I love you, Jessi."

Jessi's joking face faded away as she looked back at Kyle, unable to believe what she had heard. A smile slowly formed on her face, slight, but filled with immense joy. "Really?"

"I don't know why it took me so long to realize it, but yes. I love you."

Jessi grabbed Kyle by the head and gave him a passionate kiss. Kyle kissed her too as his arms embraced her bare back and he felt her skin against his. Although both had their eyes closed, Kyle and Jessi could hear the lights in the room shatter as they overloaded with energy.

Even though the room was now dark, Jessi pulled her head back to look Kyle in eyes, but kept her hands on the back of his head and neck. "You have no idea how much I love you, Kyle."

The slight electric charge that Kyle had felt before was now an invigorating, unyielding bolt of lightning that surged through his body. The tighter he grasped her body, the more he wanted. Not knowing how much Jessi wanted, Kyle tried to calm himself down and regain control. Quivering at his touch, Jessi looked Kyle in the eye.

"Kyle, have you ever had sex before?"

Kyle managed to shake his head. "No."

Jessi moved herself closer with a look of desire in her eyes. "Don't be hesitant with me like you were with Amanda."

* * *

It had started out as a relatively peaceful night on the street outside Jessi's building. A few residents were just returning to their homes from working a late shift and the occasional car drove by.

The incessant honking of a car alarm shattered the nighttime silence. The annoyed owner of the car stormed out of a nearby building to shut the alarm off, but the car refused to stop. Then another car alarm went off, followed by another, until the entire street was a symphony of angry cars.

The streetlamps began to overload and burst, and one by one the lights of all the buildings on the street went out. Finally, with an enormous shockwave, all the glass windows in Jessi's building shattered. The entire city went dark as Seattle lost power.

* * *

Kyle and Jessi's clothes had been thrown off and scattered about the dark apartment. Kyle lay face up on the Jessi's bed, his big dumb grin bigger than it had ever been before. Jessi relaxed her head on Kyle's chest as she finally began to catch her breath.

"Kyle… that was incredible." Jessi could barely believe that it had actually happened.

There was no response from Kyle. He simply continued to grin and stare up at the ceiling.

"Are you alright?" Jessi jokingly asked. "Did I overload your brain?"

Still no response.

"Come on Kyle." Jessi sat up and looked at him with a smile. "Say something."

"Wow…" Kyle finally said.

* * *

It was the next morning and Kyle and Jessi were back in their neighborhood, walking back to the Trager house. Hoping to be stealthy about their return, they crept around to the backyard in order to sneak through Kyle's window. It was locked, but Jessi managed to flip the lock open when she focused.

"I don't think I've ever actually gone through my own window," Kyle joked as he stepped over the windowsill.

"I don't know why you ever bothered with the front door in the first place." Jessi followed Kyle into his room and shut the window behind her. "This is faster."

"Kyle? Jessi?" Nicole's voice came from the other room.

Kyle quickly walked up to meet her his door. "Hi Nicole."

"Kyle, thank God you two are back." Nicole was relieved but still frustrated. "I was so worried last night with the blackout and everything. What were the two of you thinking being out so late without telling me?"

"I'm sorry," Kyle assured her. "It won't happen again."

"Listen," said Nicole. "I know that both of you have been through a lot recently. With everything that happened with Sarah, along with this whole business with Cassidy and Latnok, I can understand why you might act like this. But you understand I can't let you think that's acceptable behavior."

"I understand." Kyle nodded and turned to Jessi, who nodded as well.

"Are you sure you're alright? Kyle, you're acting strangely—almost the same way you acted when you returned from living with Adam Baylin." Nicole paused and looked closely at Kyle. "Are you hiding something from me, Kyle?"

Kyle looked back at Nicole, knowing he couldn't stand to continue the deception any longer. "Not everything went as we planned two nights ago when we destroyed the formula. There are still some loose ends at Latnok we need to tie up. But once it's done, I promise I'll tell you everything."

"This whole thing scares me so much," Nicole said with concern. "I really thought that it was all over."

"It will be soon," Kyle promised. "I'll make sure of it. Trust me."

Nicole nodded. "Ok. I don't like this at all, but I trust that you'll do the right thing." She slowly backed out of Kyle's room. "I'll tell Stephen that everything is alright."

When Nicole was gone, Kyle turned back to Jessi.

"I hope you don't mind what I told her about us and Latnok."

Jessi shrugged. "She'd probably be angrier if she knew what we actually did last night."

Kyle grinned. "You're right. We're going to have to watch ourselves around them."

"But that still leaves the question." Jessi's tone got more serious. "What are you going to do about Grace Kingsley?"

Kyle sighed. "I know that when I planned to kill her, I told you that I didn't have a choice. But that wasn't true. We always have choices."

"Letting her and Latnok hunt down the Tragers is not an option."

"I know. Then there's only one option left." Kyle stared into Jessi's eyes. "I go to Grace Kingsley… and I give her what she wants. In exchange, Latnok never goes anywhere near the Tragers ever again."

"Kyle…" Jessi's voice was filled with concern. "That's exactly what Latnok wants. You'd be letting Cassidy and Grace Kingsley manipulate you."

"No," Kyle insisted. "I will agree to work with them, but as long as I remember who I am, they will never control me."

Jessi nodded, but she was still noticeably worried. "You don't even know what she wants from you."

Kyle nodded. "Then it's time I found out."


	6. The Devil's Contract

_When Cassidy first told me that he was my brother and Grace Kingsley was my mother, I did not want to accept it. Cassidy was manipulative and violent, and if Grace Kingsley was the authority behind his actions, how could she be any different? I had wanted so badly to keep them out of my life, to lock him away and to put an end to her, but that was no longer an option. I was going to agree to work with them, and there would be some questions I could no longer avoid asking myself. People have told me that I got much of my warmth, curiosity and compassion from my father Adam Baylin. If I really did share some DNA with Grace Kingsley as well, did that mean that I also have the potential for evil?_

Kyle walked into the old warehouse to find everything where he had left it, including Cassidy sitting on the floor. At first, Cassidy's eyes met Kyle with a hateful glare, but that soon faded as he read Kyle's facial expression.

"You didn't do it, did you, mate?"

"No, I didn't."

"So you just couldn't bring yourself to kill her once you saw her."

"I'm not a murderer." Kyle glared at Cassidy. "I didn't even make it to the Latnok building."

"Well then, what brings you back here to see me?"

"I came to tell you that I'm ready to go see her."

"I see. Just like you were the last time."

"I mean it this time," Kyle said truthfully. "I'll agree to do whatever it is she wants me to. But on one condition."

"You want Latnok to stay away from the Tragers."

Kyle stared back at Cassidy intently. "No contact, at all. Or else this agreement is over."

Cassidy nodded. "I'll see to it that we keep our hands off your family."

"I need you to promise."

"You have my word, Kyle. And I can assure you that our mother will honor that promise as well."

"Thank you, but I'll need to hear that from her too."

Cassidy smirked. "I think it is definitely time that I brought you to see her."

"I going to set you free now," Kyle cautiously said. "Don't try anything."

"I'm a man of my word, Kyle. No funny business."

_Hearing Cassidy tell me that he could be trusted made me feel uneasy, and not just because I knew him to be manipulative and a very good liar. Just a week ago, I had tricked Cassidy into trusting me when I was the one plotting against him. If lying was an ability Cassidy and I shared, what else might we share besides DNA?_

Kyle carefully eyed Cassidy as he took hold of the iron shackles that bound him to the pillar. With one swift motion, Kyle snapped them apart with his bare hands. Finally free, Cassidy stood up and stretched his legs.

"I let you go. Now take me to her."

Cassidy turned back to Kyle. "Let me borrow your phone. I'll have the guys at Latnok pick us up."

Kyle glared back at Cassidy, knowing it would be unwise to let him handle his cell phone.

"Alright, then." Cassidy shrugged. "I'm sure there's a payphone outside."

* * *

Lori was sitting on her bed practicing her guitar when she heard a knock on the door. She looked over and put down her instrument.

"Who is it?"

"Jessi."

"It's open."

As Jessi walked in and closed the door behind her, Lori could see that she was smiling to herself.

"Is… something wrong?" Lori asked.

"No. Why would there be?"

"You're smiling."

Jessi normally might have scowled at that comment, but she couldn't help continuing to smile. "I'm just really happy."

Lori shrugged. "Well… that's good!"

Jessi excitedly sat down on the bed next to Lori. "Something happened. I have to tell someone and you're my best friend."

Lori's eyes widened. "I'm your best friend?"

Jessi gave an annoyed look. "Try to sound happier about it."

"Right," Lori said sarcastically. "It's just that if you beat up your best friend in an alleyway, I'd hate to think what you do to your enemies."

"I crush their blood vessels with my mind."

"Rhetorical question, Jessi…" Lori began to explain but Jessi just stared back at her blankly. "Never mind. So, what's up? Um… Bestie?"

Jessi's smile became even bigger than before as she looked at Lori. "I lost my virginity."

Lori's eyes widened with shock for a moment and then she cringed. "I'd ask who it was with, but something tells me I already know the answer."

"It was Kyle."

Lori shook her head as she put her face in her hands. "Oh God, Jessi…"

"Look." Jessi raised her eyebrows. "I know you don't think I'm good enough for Kyle, but he told me that he loves me. We've been through a lot together and…"

"… You have a special connection, I know." Lori looked back at Jessi, trying to hide her disapproval and not sound judgmental. "So… how was it?"

"Amazing!"

"Really?"

Jessi tilted her head and gave a puzzled look. "Is that surprising?"

"I don't know." Lori shrugged. "My first time was disappointing—over way too quickly. And I know Kyle's never done it before so I don't think he'd have any practice."

"Kyle and I can use our minds to alter our the physiology of our bodies. This includes inducing or delaying arousal."

Lori slowly closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Ok Jessi, I want to be patient with you, but I'm only going to tell you this once. Kyle is my brother. As happy as I am for you, there are certain things I do not need to know about him. And certain mental images I don't need. Understand?"

"You asked."

Lori sighed. "And I'm sorry I did."

"At one point he kept on shouting the word 'grapefruit'. Do you know what that means?"

"What? I don't know, ask Josh."

"Oh and by the way," Jessi raised her eyebrows at Lori. "With Kyle being in the pod all those years, his brain wasn't the only part of his body that had a lot of time to develop."

"Oh my God, Jessi!" Lori stood up, rushing out of her room as fast as possible. "What part of 'he's my brother, some things I don't need to know' don't you understand?"

Jessi raised her head, still smiling as Lori disappeared out the door. "Don't tell Nicole!"

* * *

Kyle and Cassidy stood by the street outside the old warehouse, waiting for the car from Latnok to come pick them up. The sky was gray and cloudy and a breeze rippled across a patch of grass on the side of the road.

Kyle stepped back as he dialed a number into his phone. He stood close enough to Cassidy to keep an eye on him, but far enough away so that he wouldn't hear Kyle's conversation.

"Foss, are you there?"

"I'm here, Kyle. I'm hoping you're calling me with a solution to Latnok's threat."

"I'm making a deal with Latnok. I'm going to Grace Kingsley to see what she wants from me."

"Kyle, you can't do that. It's too dangerous."

"I can handle myself. It's my family that I'm worried about."

"There has to be another option."

"Foss, you can't just firebomb Latnok like you did Zzyzx. Let me deal with them this way."

There was a pause. "You do it your way, but I don't like this. In the meantime, I'll still be watching out for the Tragers. I don't trust Latnok to honor any arrangement and neither should you."

"Thank you, Foss. If you hadn't been watching the Tragers yesterday…"

"You can thank me later. Right now, focus on what you need to do."

"Right." Kyle glanced around, still keeping an eye on Cassidy. "I just set Cassidy free. He's going to take me to her now."

"Then our safe house is compromised."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. We've been using it for a while and it's time we switched to a new one. I already have a new, better place picked out."

"Text me the address when you get the chance." Kyle noticed the car from Latnok pulling up to the curb. "I need to go now."

As Kyle hung up, a balding man in a suit stepped out of the car and opened up the door for Cassidy and Kyle.

"Good morning, Mr. Cassidy," he said. "You look like you could use a shower."

"Rough night," replied Cassidy.

Kyle cautiously sat down in the car next to Cassidy. There didn't seem to be any trap, but he had a hard time believing it, given that he had just held Cassidy prisoner for two nights. The man who had greeted them took the passenger seat and the driver pulled back out onto the road.

"Have a clean set of clothes ready for me when we arrive," Cassidy instructed the balding man. "And let the others know that I'm bringing Kyle to see Mrs. Kingsley."

"I'll make the call right now, Sir."

As they drove through the streets, Kyle moved about in his seat so that he was as far away from Cassidy as possible. Cassidy, noticing his discomfort, turned to Kyle.

"I hope we can still get along, mate. Considering that we'll still be working together."

"Why do you care if we get along?" Kyle angrily demanded. "I thought you told me I was nothing more than a computer."

"True, you may be a computer, but you're still my little brother."

"You invaded my home. You threatened my family. A brother wouldn't do that."

"And I seem to recall you beating me up and leaving me chained up for days. How about we call it even?"

_Although I can tell whether or not people are lying, I could not tell whether or not Cassidy had any interest in being my brother. Such a complicated concept was still too difficult for me to decipher. I knew he felt strongly for his mother, but I was unsure as to whether that led him to view me with leniency or resentment._

"We'll have to see," Kyle slowly said.

"Don't worry, mate. We'll be there soon."

* * *

Kyle sat by himself on a chair on the top floor of the Latnok building while Cassidy had left him to go change into clean clothes. The interior of the building was bland, with walls painted white and no decorations albeit a few plants. A few men and women in suits walked by, pretending not to realize whom Kyle was.

_I recognized some of these people from the Latnok round table the night Amanda was kidnapped. Although they acted like they didn't notice me, each one was watching me out of the corners of their eyes. To them, I represented an achievement—Latnok's gift to mankind. But were they truly the visionaries Adam Baylin described, or were they corrupt like Grace Kingsley and Cassidy?_

"Kyle, good to see you're still here." Cassidy stood in front of him. "Are you ready to meet our mother?"

Kyle stood up. "Your mother. My egg donor."

Cassidy nodded. "Of course. Follow me."

Kyle walked behind Cassidy through the empty hallway. "She wants to me to help restart Adam Baylin's experiment, doesn't she?"

"The one you and Jessi sabotaged? There will be another time for that. This is a far more important matter."

"Then what is it?"

Cassidy opened the door at the end of the hall and turned to Kyle. "Something that only you can help her with."

As Kyle followed Cassidy through the door, he saw a curtain covering part of the room and he heard a strange beeping sound. The last time he had heard one like it, Nicole was being treated in the hospital after the car accident.

Cassidy pulled back the curtain to reveal an unconscious woman in a hospital gown lying on a bed. She had bright red hair, was in her mid-forties, and had a dark blue Latnok ring visible on her finger. The beeping noise sure enough had come from a monitor displaying her vital signs.

"Kyle," Cassidy turned back to him. "I'd like you to meet Grace Kingsley."


	7. Sleeping Beauty

_Before this moment, I knew very little about Grace Kingsley other than the fact that she wanted me at Latnok. My imagination had depicted her in various ways: threatening, intimidating, manipulative, scheming, menacing, and countless others. But now the woman I had wondered so much about lay unconscious and helpless before me. I had never imagined this._

"I can understand you may be a little confused," said Cassidy.

"This is Grace Kingsley?" Kyle still couldn't believe it.

"The one and only."

Kyle turned to Cassidy. "What happened to her?"

"She's in a coma, Kyle. Four years next week."

"How did this happen?"

Cassidy stepped closer to his mother's side and looked down at her, slowly taking her hand in his. "No one knows for sure." He paused and then looked back up at Kyle. "But I believe it might have something to do with some of her more strenuous activities."

"What do you mean?"

"Grace Kingsley was always pushing her mind and body to new limits. She tried things like controlling the flow of electrons through wires and moving water with her mind. She constantly sought out new and unorthodox methods of increasing her brainpower."

Kyle's eyes narrowed. "Those abilities you described—I thought that only Jessi and I could do things like that."

"That's what I think got to her in the end. Her brain wasn't strong enough to handle the strain she put upon it. Not everyone can be as strong as you, Kyle."

Kyle paused and turned back to face the comatose woman. "So what do you want me to do?"

"The doctors can't figure out a way to wake her up, but I believe you can."

Kyle turned back to Cassidy. "How?"

"Her mind is still in there somewhere, trying to reach out to the world. Your mind might just be powerful enough to reach back."

Kyle seemed doubtful. "I don't know if I can do that."

"You've done it before."

Kyle paused for a moment and then slowly nodded. He turned back to Grace Kingsley and tried to focus. For the first minute, nothing noticeable stood out in his mind, but he wasn't ready to give up.

"Take your time, mate. No one's expecting her up and about overnight. You can always come back tomorrow."

* * *

"So all along you thought Grace Kingsley was some evil woman who wanted to hunt you down, but it turns out she's been in a coma this whole time?" Declan asked.

Declan sat across from Kyle and Jessi at their usual table at the Rack. Everyone's favorite teen hangout had reopened recently since the damage caused by Kyle and Jessi a few nights ago had been repaired. It was abuzz with young customers as it was the middle of the day. Kyle nodded as he held his strawberry kiwi smoothie in his hand.

"Don't say anything about this to Jackie yet."

"Don't worry, I won't." Declan looked confused. "But this whole thing is really weird. I thought she had ordered Latnok to bring you in. Obviously, she couldn't have if she wasn't even awake."

"Cassidy thinks I can connect with her. Communicate using my mind."

"Can you even do that?"

"Kyle and I can communicate with each other that way," answered Jessi. "We can send messages, see each other's thoughts, and experience each other's memories."

"But so far Jessi is the only other one I can do that with, at least to that extent. Anyone else's brain simply isn't powerful enough."

"To that extent?" Declan raised his eyebrow. "So you have gotten through to other people this way."

Kyle paused and then nodded. "Once with Adam Baylin when he was in a coma after being shot. But Adam's brain is more developed than most peoples', and I had Jessi's help."

Kyle turned to Jessi with a smile, to which she returned her own smile and put her hand on his. Declan immediately picked up on this, but kept himself from saying anything.

Kyle turned back to Declan. "But there was another time. It was when Stephen's father was dying after a stroke. I got some sort of message from him, but my conscious mind couldn't understand or interpret it. I just started drawing pictures of things that he had seen."

"Stephen's dad? That was a while ago. As far as I remember you weren't controlling electricity or throwing people with your mind back then."

"He's right you know." Jessi raised her eyebrows at Kyle. "Our abilities have expanded since then. As ridiculous as it may sound, connecting to a normal person might actually be possible."

Declan held up his hand. "Um… just a word of advice from one of the 'normal people'—something about this still seems wrong."

"Of course it does," said Jessi. "It's Latnok."

"What I mean to say is, Latnok went through all this trouble and secrecy to get you where you are. They threatened you—threatened the Tragers too. And for what? To get you to help a woman in a coma? If that was all there was to it, they would have just asked for your help."

"You're right." Kyle nodded in agreement. "Something seems wrong, but since I've agreed to work with them, no one at Latnok has shown any hostility to me. Not even Cassidy."

"Can't you tell when someone's hiding something?" asked Declan. "Have you picked up anything from Cassidy?"

Kyle sighed. "Cassidy claims that he doesn't know anything other than the fact that she needs my help. As much as I don't trust him, I can't sense any physiological signs that he's lying. Either he really doesn't know, or he's much better at lying than anyone else I've met."

Declan shook his head. "I don't like where this is going."

"I don't either, Declan. But I agreed to help them, I need to follow through on that promise, or else the Tragers will be danger again."

"I could go with you," Jessi suggested. "I could sneak along and Latnok would never know. While you're keeping them occupied, I could find out if they're really planning something else."

"Maybe." Kyle looked at Jessi as he considered it. "It just seems like too big a risk at this point. If they find you, they might see that as me breaking our arrangement."

Jessi nodded. She hated it when Kyle had to go alone and badly wanted to be there with him, but she knew she was better off to trust his judgment. Suddenly, she felt her phone vibrate. Seeing whom it was from, Jessi gave a puzzled look.

"I have to go…" Jessi tried to hide her confusion from Kyle. "I'll see you tonight."

Jessi gave Kyle a quick kiss and quickly walked out of the Rack. Declan waited until the doors had closed behind her before turning back to Kyle.

"All right Kyle, tell me what's up between you and her, and don't say 'nothing'."

* * *

Amanda had been watching from the counter as she intently scrubbed a mango smoothie stain. As Jessi and Kyle had showed more and more signs of affection, Amanda had scrubbed the spot harder and harder.

"What's wrong, pumpkin?" Amanda turned to see Hilary at the other side of the counter.

Amanda shook her head. "Nothing."

"Then why are you trying to remove the paint from that countertop?"

Amanda stopped scrubbing and looked down at the counter. Then she sighed and turned back to Hilary. "It's Kyle. He was sitting with her."

Hilary gave Amanda her best sympathetic smile. "I know, sweetie. I saw them."

"I just don't get why he'd want to be with her."

"Amanda, why don't you just ask him to get back together with you?"

"I did. He told me that he has feelings for her too."

Hilary threw her hair to the other side of her head. "You can win over Jessi any day. Kyle's crazy about you."

Amanda sighed again. "A few nights ago, I saw Kyle do something awful. It made me really scared."

Hilary looked shocked. "What did he do?"

Amanda looked at Hilary. "I really shouldn't say. It looked bad, but with Kyle, things aren't usually as they appear. I should have given him the chance to explain, but instead I ran."

Hilary looked over at Kyle and Declan. "He's right there, muffin. Let him explain it to you now."

"I don't know." Amanda seemed unsure. "It might be too late. He might have already decided that he wants to be with her."

"You don't know that."

Amanda gave Hilary a quizzical look. "Hilary, you're always saying that you're good at picking up on vibes between people. Pick up on anything between him and Jessi?"

Hilary stared at Amanda like a deer staring into headlights and then flashed her biggest fake smile. "I just remembered… I have to go somewhere." With that, Hilary promptly turned around and left the shop.

* * *

"You slept with Jessi?" Declan couldn't believe what he had just heard.

Kyle looked confused. "Did I do something wrong?"

Declan empathically shook his head. "No man, not at all. That's awesome! This is deserving of a fist bump!"

Declan extended his fist to Kyle, to which Kyle grinned and bumped back with his own fist.

"I never thought I'd see the day." Declan said with disbelief. "I thought you were always going to be Mr. Innocent with the ladies. I couldn't see you making the move."

"She wanted me to. The moment was right."

"I'm curious, is sex different for you superhero types?"

Kyle shrugged. "Other than the large power surge, I think it's about the same."

"Hold on. Are you saying that you and Jessi had something to do with the blackout?"

Kyle grinned sheepishly and nodded.

"Wow." Declan shook his head in disbelief. "As much as I wish I could do that every time I was with a girl, you can't have the whole city lose power every time the two of you get busy."

"I know," Kyle agreed. "As we get better at controlling our abilities, we should have fewer problems accidently causing power surges."

"Or until you do, the two of you can just go do it in the woods."

"Or that."

"I still can't believe it. It's like one day you're telling me how you just like her as a friend and I have to walk you through why you just might be perfect for each other, and then the next day... well… this!"

"Declan." Kyle looked intently at his friend. "I should have asked before. Are you alright with this?"

"What do you mean?"

"You and Jessi used to…"

"Kyle, I'm going to stop you right there. What you and Jessi have is real. What Jessi and I had was nothing."

"Do you promise?"

"Look, Jessi was all messed up in the head from MadaCorp's brainwashing. And I was all messed up in the head from Trager. I probably still am."

Kyle's eyes narrowed. "You miss Lori, don't you?"

Declan sighed. "Jackie's great. She really is. We have a lot of fun together. But no one really ever understood me like your sister did. The worst part is that she knew it too, but she still choose to walk away."

"Maybe you should tell her how you feel."

"Can't. As far as she's concerned, that's all in the past." Declan looked up to see Amanda watching from the counter. "Speaking of past relationships…"

"Is Amanda watching?" Kyle didn't turn around to look.

"Pretty sure she's been watching since the moment you walked in."

Kyle winced. "Do you think she heard what I just told you about Jessi?"

"Either way, you can't hide it forever. You could go talk to her."

"What would I tell her?"

Declan shrugged. "Whatever you want her to hear."

Kyle took a deep breath and stood up. "Ok, I'll go talk to her."

"Good luck!"

Amanda had turned around to wash the blender, pretending that she hadn't been watching them. Kyle walked up to the counter and waited a few seconds, unsure about whether or not to say something.

"Hi Amanda."

She turned around. "Oh. Hey Kyle."

"Do you want to talk?"

Amanda walked over to the side of the counter opposite Kyle. She looked into his eyes with her gentle smile. "Kyle, I'm sorry I ran away the last time I saw you. I didn't understand what I was seeing and I got scared. I should have let you explain."

Kyle sighed. "That man was sent from Latnok to kill Nicole."

Amanda gasped in horror. "Oh my God, Kyle…"

"It's ok." Kyle interrupted her. "Everyone is safe. I made sure that they won't be hurting anyone anymore."

Amanda was still shaken. "That's so awful, I can't believe it. You told me some disturbing things about them, but this?"

"It still doesn't make what I did right. I stopped him from killing Nicole, but even after he wasn't a threat, I just wanted to hurt him more." Kyle stared intently into Amanda's eyes. "But it won't happen again. I saw what I was becoming and I promised myself I would never again let my anger control me. Not like that."

Amanda looked at Kyle sympathetically. "I know you won't, Kyle. I shouldn't have lost faith in you. I just didn't understand what was going on with you and I jumped to conclusions."

Kyle paused as he felt a lump in his throat. "It wouldn't be the first time you did that with me, Amanda." He said it not harshly or judgmentally, but still slowly and with deliberation and thought behind each word.

Amanda looked down and slowly nodded her head. "I know, Kyle." For a moment, neither spoke a word. Finally Amanda looked back up at Kyle, trying to hide the fact that she was fighting back tears. "So you and Jessi."

"Amanda…"

"No, it's alright. I promise."

Kyle's eyes narrowed. "Are you sure?"

"You two were meant for each other." As much as it hurt her to say it, Amanda let the words come out. A single tear streamed down her cheek. "I can feel the way you and Jessi are when you're together. I don't want to believe it. I don't want it to be true, but I know it is. Some part of me has always known."

Kyle looked confused. "If you know this, then why did you try to get back together with me?"

Amanda gave a small snicker of self-pity. "First there was Charlie. And now Nate. You were the only truly good guy that I've ever been with and I hate myself for losing you. It can seem like I only get stuck with jerks that want to use me. Sometimes I wonder why that is and why I can't be with someone who actually cares about me. I wonder why I don't deserve to be with someone like you. That's why I kept trying for us, even though I knew it wasn't meant to be."

"Amanda, you know you meant everything to me." Kyle looked deep into her eyes. "When I first got here, I didn't know what it was to love or to be loved. You showed me what that could be like, and it was wonderful. And no matter what happens, I will always care about you deeply."

"What does that even mean?" asked Amanda. "What do we do now?"

Kyle shrugged. "You've always been a good friend to me. I'd like it if we could still be friends."

Amanda rolled her eyes. "I don't think Jessi would be very happy about that."

Kyle grinned. "Jessi will manage. She's a tough person."

* * *

Jessi looked up at the towering smokestacks of a nearby factory. As large and sturdy as it was, she could tell that the structure hadn't been used for years. This was definitely the new address that Foss had given them. The only question was that of why he wanted to see her.

She pushed open the massive factory doors to reveal a vast, spacious central room. Jessi closed the doors behind her and walked into the building.

"I'm here!" she shouted. "Why did you want to see me?"

"I'm glad you could make it." A man's voice came from the other side of the room. "Come over here and I'll explain everything."

Jessi started walking down the dimly lit chamber. "Why didn't you ask Kyle to come?"

"I wanted to see you," came the response. "Kyle can't know about this yet."

Jessi raised her eyebrow in suspicion. "I don't like keeping things from him, Foss."

"I am not Foss." A man stepped into the beam of light coming from the factory window. He was middle-aged with a kind smile that reminded her all too much of Kyle's. "It's nice to see you again Jessi, considering the last time we met, I was in a coma. My name is Adam Baylin."

Jessi stared back in shock. "That's not possible. Kyle told me that you were dead."

Adam nodded. "It wouldn't be the first time Kyle believed that."


	8. Teatime

"You look just like your mother, Jessi."

Looking at Jessi's face reminded Adam of just how beautiful Sarah was and it brought him back to the time when the two of them were together. He couldn't help but smile as he remembered those better days.

"How are you alive?" Jessi couldn't believe it was Adam who stood before her. "Foss told Kyle that your health was failing—and then you passed away."

"That's what Foss thinks. Right now, I can't risk anyone knowing I'm alive."

"Then why are you using his safe house?"

"Don't worry, I've thought this through. Foss won't come back here for a while."

"I can't even tell Kyle?"

"Jessi, I'll explain."

"So you faked your death?"

Adam nodded. "Aren't you curious how I did it?"

"I know how it can be done." There was a hint of hostility in Jessi's voice. "I'm more interested in knowing why."

Adam sighed. "I had to protect myself from Latnok. As long as they knew I was alive, I was in danger."

"You're a member of Latnok. Why would they want to hurt you?"

"I was a very prominent member of Latnok, but over the years I've had to hide from the world from time to time. In my absence, Grace Kingsley gained greater influence. I know she would use that influence to turn Latnok against me, to eliminate me so that she could control future of Latnok for herself."

"Grace Kingsley is in a coma." Jessi raised her eyebrows. "How is she a threat?"

Adam paused for a moment. The way Jessi challenged him reminded him of a whole other side of Sarah. "Perhaps I should start from the beginning."

Jessi nodded. "Good idea."

"Your mother and I were students at the University of Washington back when we first became involved with Latnok," Adam began. "That's where we first met Grace Kingsley."

"She was a student too?"

"Yes. Grace was competitive, not unlike your mother, and she was quiet, focused, brilliant."

Jessi felt a small lump in her throat. "So she was as smart as Sarah?"

Adam smiled at Jessi. "No. Sarah was something else altogether. Completely unique."

"And you and Grace?"

"We were only friends, Jessi. Your mother was always the only one for me."

Jessi nodded, feeling somewhat relieved.

"Grace was very intelligent, but when she compared herself to me or Sarah, she always felt inferior and jealous. And then she learned about my origins."

"About how you were the result of an extended pregnancy?"

"Exactly. She realized that my mind was on a whole different level. She realized that I could perceive things differently and use my mind to alter my physical state and that of the world around me. At that point, her jealousy of me turned into obsession."

"Obsession?"

"She wanted my abilities and gifts for herself. For Grace, it wasn't enough to know that superhuman abilities were possible, she just hated the fact that she wasn't the one born with them."

"So what did she do?"

"She followed me everywhere, constantly asking me questions to try to learn more about how I did the things I did. Even after her son Michael Cassidy was born, she still persisted and studied my every action. When the Zzyzx experiments began, she insisted on being my egg donor—she reasoned that perhaps having a child with superhuman powers could somehow bring her closer to gaining said powers herself someday."

"And you gave in to her request?"

"I would have used Sarah's eggs, but by then she had already gone off the grid. And to be honest, at that point I felt some sympathy for Grace."

Jessi tilted her head. "Why?"

"She tried doing the things that I did, things like healing wounds or moving glasses of water with her thoughts. When that failed, began experimenting with rather extreme and dangerous methods of increasing her mental activity. She stimulated her brain with powerful electric shocks, tried interfacing her mind directly with computers and running programs, and self-induced altered states of consciousness. Each time she would damage and hurt herself more and I couldn't help but feel sorry for her."

"Increase her brain activity? Is that even possible?"

"No one thought so at first. But over the years, things began to change. One day she found that she could move the glass. And she could do other things too. It wasn't long before her MRI results showed 25% brain activity, up from the human average of 7%."

"So her methods worked."

"Yes. The more powerful Grace Kingsley became, the more she challenged my position in Latnok. For many years, the other members of Latnok had looked to me for direction, but she sought to remove my influence. Once she started developing abilities as I did, she no longer looked up to me and only saw me as a hindrance to Latnok's potential. When the other members of Latnok started abandoning my ideals and turning to her, I was in great danger."

"But then she went into a coma."

"Yes. She was always putting far too much strain on her mind and body, but somewhere along the way she took things one step too far."

"So why are you still in danger?"

"Grace Kingsley's influence remains. At that point her son Cassidy had grown up and he was ready to speak for her. They trusted her. Now they trust him to be her voice. And Cassidy has been insistent on following his mother's wishes—and that means hunting me down."

Jessi paused as she thought about what she had just heard. "So we can't allow her to wake up from her coma."

Adam nodded. "Cassidy has taken the organization in some terrible directions, but there's no telling how much worse it would be under Grace Kingsley herself. And there's no telling how much stronger she'll be once she awakens."

Jessi flinched. "What do you mean, 'stronger'?"

Adam sighed. "Normally a patient in a coma will show significantly decreased mental output. However, MRI results from a year into her coma showed that her brain activity was somehow still steadily increasing. Grace Kingsley isn't in an ordinary coma. It's as if her brain is using it as an opportunity to develop, much like you and Kyle had your brains develop in the pod."

Jessi's eyes were wide apart. "We have to tell Kyle!"

"Jessi, Kyle can't know I'm alive."

"Why not?" shouted Jessi.

"Kyle is attempting to connect his mind to hers. Anything that he knows, she will also know. And if she learns I'm still alive, she'll have them find me and kill me."

Jessi looked at Adam with disbelief and desperation, slowly shaking her head. "But we have to do something!"

Adam nodded. "I know. We'll figure it out."

* * *

Kyle sat at his desk at the Latnok area of U-dub. It was still early and none of the other students had shown up yet. With a box of crayons and a piece of paper, Kyle was tapping away to form a new image.

_It was strange being back somewhere I thought I would never visit again. Although my view of Latnok had been twisted in several directions, this still somehow seemed like a familiar and safe place, at least more so than the Latnok headquarters._

"Hey Kyle."

Kyle turned around to see a dark-haired student with glasses. "Oh… hi Mark."

"I didn't expect to see you here. Lori said that you wouldn't be coming back."

Kyle nodded. "Things changed."

Not wanting to start a conversation, Kyle turned back to his drawing, but Mark stepped closer.

"I've been meaning to talk to you actually."

Kyle looked at Mark. "About what?"

"Kyle, come on. About that night I ran into you at that Latnok headquarters. You fell from the ceiling and landed right in front of me without a scratch. You told me that those gestation pods weren't for mothers who couldn't give birth. What were they really for?"

"Mark, I really shouldn't be talking to you about this."

Mark couldn't believe what he was hearing. "No, you can't just leave me hanging like this. I work for Latnok. If they're doing something shady, I think I have the right to know."

Kyle sighed. As reluctant as he was to bring more people in on his secrets, he couldn't turn Mark away now. "How much do you know about what goes on with the senior members of Latnok?"

Mark shrugged. "Not too much. Nate has spent more time with them than I have."

"Nate?"

"He was our top U-dub member, that is, until you showed up. From what I gather, they have a process of slowly transitioning junior members up the ranks before they can learn all of Latnok's secrets. Nate showed the most promise at first, but over time they came to trust me with a few big projects as well, the most important, of course, being programing the gestation pods I let you sabotage."

Kyle paused. "I understand why it's so important to you to know what Latnok was planning. You'll have to believe me when I tell you that they were planning something highly unethical for those pods."

"You would know, wouldn't you?" Kyle and Mark turned to see Nate standing before them with a smug grin. "After all, you did spend the first 16 years of your life in one of those pods."

Mark turned to Kyle with a look of disbelief on his face. "Is this true?"

"Oh, it's true." Nate raised his eyebrows as he walked closer. "I've been doing some digging. He was an experiment. His brain developing in the pod all those years is the only reason he's so smart. It's nice to know he has an excuse."

"An excuse?" asked Kyle.

"Yeah, you know. You wouldn't have been a genius if it weren't for you being in the pod. You may be able to outdo me, but at least now I can sleep at night knowing that my genius, unlike yours, is all natural."

_Nate's taunts were nothing new to me, but him of all people knowing my secrets filled me with anger. I knew I had to stay calm—I couldn't let myself get carried away like I had before, not over something like this._

"I thought Jessi made you stop looking through those old files."

"Oh, Jessi was more than clear about that." Nate involuntarily rubbed his throat. "But I still know what I know. And something tells me that you don't want me telling anyone else about it."

Kyle and Nate were interrupted by Cassidy, who shoved Nate to the side and stood face to face with him.

"I'm only going to say this once, Nate. Back off." Cassidy intimidatingly glared at him.

"I didn't do anything," Nate said innocently and nonchalantly.

"You know perfectly well what you were doing. So I will make this clear to you now. Threaten Kyle's future with Latnok, and I will personally see to it that you have none."

For a moment, Nate stared expressionlessly at Cassidy. Finally, Nate sighed angrily and stormed off. Cassidy turned back to Kyle.

"I'd like to talk to you in my office if you've got a minute."

Kyle nodded and grabbed the picture he had been working on. He looked one last time at Mark, who was still in shock at the whole exchange, before following Cassidy into his office. Kyle closed the door behind them as Cassidy sat down at his desk.

"I'd like to apologize for Nate's behavior—again," Cassidy began. "Some things never change."

Kyle looked at Cassidy with reluctant gratitude. "I appreciate what you did. But doing things like that aren't going to change what I think about you."

"Then may I ask what will?"

Kyle shook his head. "Nothing. Nothing could make up for what you've done. You murdered Jessi's mother. You would have murdered Nicole too."

"Latnok henchmen would have. I was tied up."

"They followed your instructions!" Kyle shouted. "I have no reason to trust you. First you kidnap Amanda. Then you say you want me to work with you. Then you threaten my family and everyone I love. Then you tell me that you're my brother. Then you tell me that I'm nothing but a computer. Now you want to me to work with you again."

Cassidy looked intently at Kyle. "I'm sorry Kyle, but my first obligation is to my mother. I do whatever it takes to get her the help she needs. After her, everything else comes second, even my little brother."

Kyle nodded. "Then you'll get just that. I help you wake her, and then we're done."

Cassidy slowly nodded as well. "As promised."

For a moment, neither of them said anything. Then Cassidy broke the silence.

"I hope it's not too early to ask, but have you had any progress on getting through to her?"

"Just this." Kyle handed Cassidy the picture he had just finished. The vivid and colorful image was of a black teapot and cup on some sort of outdoor table. Kyle noticed Cassidy's eyes glowing with recognition as he studied the picture. "That teapot means something to you."

Cassidy looked at Kyle. "Yes, it does. It belonged to her."

Although he wanted to appear indifferent to Cassidy, Kyle couldn't help but ask more. "Will you tell me about it?"

Cassidy nodded. "As far back as I can remember, my mother would make a pot of lemon tea and drink it outside most summer nights. Even when I was quite young, I could tell it was one of the few things that really calmed her down, what with all the damage and strain she had caused herself over the years."

"You two were close."

"At times, yes. My father left when I was an infant and for a while all we had was each other. That is, other than you."

"Me?"

"I didn't learn about you until I was much older, but she was always paying close attention to reports on your progress. Even though you weren't there per se, she thought about you a great deal." Cassidy paused and let his eyes wander off for a second before looking back at Kyle. "Contrary to what I told you when you were holding me prisoner, I know that she would be very proud of you if she could see you today. She was always a great admirer of Adam."

There was another long silence before Cassidy spoke again.

"And clearly this drawing shows remarkable progress. It's a sure sign that the two of you really are communicating. I'm sure we'll all be in for another breakthrough real soon."


	9. Unseen

_There was a warm breeze on my face. The grass felt soft beneath my feet. In the distance I could hear the bleating of sheep. Despite everything I knew, somehow this place felt pleasant and comforting._

Kyle walked through the backyard garden of an old, Victorian-style mansion on a beautiful sunny day. The flowers were in bloom and gave off a fragrant scent, but Kyle smelled something else that drew his attention. From somewhere else in the garden came the aroma of freshly brewed tea.

Following the smell as he stepped over stone walkways, Kyle came to the entrance of a hedge maze. He entered and walked through the many turns and corners of the puzzle as though he already knew the correct path. Gliding his hand along the smoothly cut wall of shrubs, Kyle made it to the clearing at the center.

There, facing away from him on a stone bench, sat a woman enjoying the nice weather. A familiar pot of tea was on the table next to her and she held a cup in her hand, slowly sipping from it.

Kyle stepped forward. "Hi. My name is Kyle. I've been looking for you."

The woman began turning to face him, but as she did, the world around Kyle disappeared in a sudden flash.

"Kyle? Is something wrong, mate?" asked Cassidy.

Kyle opened his eyes. He was at the bedside of Grace Kingsley at the Latnok headquarters. He looked down to see that he had her hand in his. Cassidy eyed him anxiously.

"You were back in the garden again, weren't you?"

Kyle nodded. "It was just the same as before. Her garden must represent a safe place, a setting her mind has recreated for her. I know how to find her, but when I try to talk to her, the connection just breaks up."

"This is the fourth time that's happened. What's stopping you from making it any further?"

"I don't know. It's as though something's forcing me out of her head. Maybe she doesn't want my help."

Cassidy shook his head. "Not possible. She would want more than anything to wake up again."

"Then this could only mean that I'm not strong enough to do this, at least not yet."

Kyle began to walk away, but Cassidy spoke up before he could leave the room. "You can't give up yet. Not after you've come so close."

Kyle sighed and turned back to Cassidy. "There is another option."

"And what's that, mate?"

"Jessi. I bring her with me and together we communicate with her. Our mental abilities are amplified when we're close to each other. She helped me get through to Baylin. She can help with this as well."

Cassidy shook his head. "You know why I can't let you do that."

"It may be the only option. How badly to you want to see your mother wake up?"

"Not badly enough to risk her life, my life, and the lives of everyone here at Latnok. Jessi was always a loose cannon, but after the incident with Sarah, I have every inclination to suspect she'd take the opportunity to kill us all."

"The incident with Sarah?" asked Kyle. "You mean how you murdered her."

"I didn't say Jessi lacked reason to hate us. I'm just saying that some chances I'm not willing to take."

* * *

As Kyle walked down the stairs on his way out of the building, he bumped into another young man with long hair who wore a gray sweater and carried a backpack.

"Sorry," muttered Kyle.

"So, I see they're letting anyone off the street into the Latnok headquarters these days."

Kyle looked to see that the person he had run into was Nate.

"Nate? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

Kyle eyed Nate uneasily. "I shouldn't be talking to you about that."

Nate gave Kyle a smug look. "No need. I can figure it out. You were coming from the top floor. You were visiting Grace Kingsley."

Kyle's eyes widened. "What do you know about Grace Kingsley?"

"I know that she's one of the most senior and well-respected members of Latnok. And I know she's your mother." Nate raised his eyebrows. "In case you've forgotten, I know everything about you."

Kyle tried to hide his annoyance. "Cassidy is having me visit her. I can't say any more than that." Suddenly, something struck Kyle as odd. "Why are you going to the top floor?"

Nate shrugged. "Same reason you were."

"I highly doubt that."

Nate chuckled. "So you don't think I'm 'special' enough for an audience with Grace Kingsley?"

"Why would you be visiting her? She's in a coma."

Nate gave Kyle a look of superiority. "What if I told you that I knew her before she went into a coma?"

Kyle's eyes narrowed. "It's been four years."

"I graduated high school at 13. I guess that wasn't impressive enough for you to remember."

"So how long have you been studying at U-dub? How old are you?"

Nate smirked. "How old are you?"

"That's hard to explain."

"Well then, I won't tell you either. All you need to know is that I've done things for Grace in the past. You may be her son, but she trusts me."

Kyle gave a slight, self-assured smile and raised his eyebrows. "I'm not her son. I already have a mother. Whatever your relationship is with Grace Kingsley, it doesn't concern me."

Without giving Nate a chance to get another word in, Kyle turned around and walked away.

* * *

Lori sat at her booth in the Rack, drinking her coffee and reading her magazine. She was feeling quite relaxed—this was a welcome break after all the craziness that seemed to follow her life over the past few weeks.

"What's up, Trager?"

Lori looked up to see Declan standing next to her. She rolled her eyes jokingly.

"Nothing. I was just hoping to enjoy a nice, drama-free afternoon. And then you showed up."

"Nice to see you too." Declan smiled as he sat across from her.

"You're not worried Jackie will see you here with me?"

"Why would I? You are I are friends."

"Well, she was giving us some strange looks that time we had dessert here."

Declan slowly shook his head as his eyes darted around confusedly. "No… she wasn't. And why are you asking me all these questions about Jackie? Aren't you more concerned about Mark?"

"Well, I would be. If it weren't for the fact that he's been acting all weird lately."

"Weird?"

"You know, distant, preoccupied…"

Declan paused. "You mean like how I acted when I first found out Kyle's secrets?"

Lori's eyes widened. "He did mention Kyle when he stopped by. You don't think…?"

"Given the what we know, could be."

"Great. This again." Lori looked more intently at Declan. "Is this weird? Me talking about Mark?"

"A little."

"Care to change the subject?"

"Sure." Declan paused. "Did you hear the news about Kyle and Jessi?"

"Ugh, don't remind me." Lori winced. "I'd rather have an awkward talk about Mark."

"You don't like him and Jessi together."

"What was wrong with Amanda?" Lori looked over at Amanda who was working the blender. "Look at her. She's so sweet and caring and she always assumes the best in people. She's just like him."

"Just like him?" asked Declan. "Right, because Amanda was born in a pod. And she can see the world exactly the way he does. Oh, and don't forget how Kyle and Amanda can communicate telepathically."

"You're seriously supporting him being with Jessi? How could you not think him and Amanda were adorable together? The two of them were so innocent."

Declan shook his head. "Kyle can't be innocent forever. You know what he was up against. Amanda as a girlfriend was great as his connection to an ordinary lifestyle, but now that I see him with Jessi, I think that's really all Amanda was."

"Wrong, Kyle and Amanda had genuine affection and cared for each other." Lori tilted her head towards Declan, raising her eyebrows. "With Jessi, It's nothing but passion—it's all sexual."

Declan gave Lori a confused look. "Where are you getting that from?"

"Well, the two of them… you know…" Lori winced. "They did it. Didn't they?"

"Oh right." Declan nodded. "The blackout."

Lori seemed confused. "Wait, what?"

"You know, that night…"

"Are you saying they caused that blackout?"

Declan slowly nodded with raised eyebrows. "That's what you get when you combine superpowers with sex." Lori's eyes widened and then she buried her face in her hands.

"Oh God… now I'm going to have horrible mental images every time the power goes out."

"Why is it so horrible?" asked Declan. "Have you even heard the two of them talk? It's like they speak the same language."

Lori looked at him. "So maybe she acts like him sometimes, but what about… I don't know… maybe the part where she had an unusual tendency to attack people?"

"Jessi's been through a lot. Kyle has helped her out. And she's helped him too." Declan paused and then looked Lori in the eye. "Despite everything, they've always been there for each other."

Lori paused and then smiled. "Look who's a hopeless romantic all of a sudden."

Declan smirked. "You stopped arguing. Does that mean I won?"

Lori gave a mocking snicker. "Not while I'm still breathing."

"Of course."

Lori paused, trying neither to make eye contact with Declan for too long nor admit to herself how much she enjoyed arguing with him.

"But you really believe in them, Kyle and Jessi?"

Declan shrugged. "If two people are meant to be together, then it will work out somehow."

"And do you really believe that?"

Declan smiled. "I'd like to think so."

* * *

Jessi walked into the den to see Kyle making some adjustments to an odd setup of contraptions he had scattered across his room. The bathtub had been moved to make room for a table with a small device that fired a bright red laser beam. On the other side of the table was a precisely crafted block of glass that bent the laser at a right angle and into the wall.

"What's this?"

"Jessi, good, you're here." Kyle motioned for Jessi to come take a closer look.

"What are you doing with the laser?"

"I'm demonstrating the properties of the refraction of light. The beam bends because the glass has a higher index of refraction than the air around it."

"You brought me here to show off a high school level science lesson?"

"No." Kyle removed the block of glass, allowing the laser to travel straight into the wall opposite them. He turned back to Jessi. "Now bend the beam without using the glass."

Jessi gave him an odd look. "How?"

"Right now the light is only traveling through the air, which all has the same refractive index. But you can change that if you alter the thermal properties of certain localized regions of air."

"Like a mirage in the desert." Jessi was impressed with the clever idea. Kyle nodded.

"Give it a try."

Jessi focused on the middle of the beam, slowly and carefully attempting to heat up a small pocket of air. At first, nothing happened, but after a minute, the bright red point on the wall gradually began to creep to the left.

"It's working!" Kyle's eyes were wide open, but Jessi remained focused.

Finally, the beam made it back to the same point it had been before Kyle had removed the block. Only then did Jessi turn back to face Kyle and let the beam return to its original position.

"How was that?" Jessi proudly asked.

"Perfect." Kyle said with a smile. "Now if we could bend the light around our bodies the way we bend the laser…"

Jessi tilted her head. "Are you suggesting that we develop the ability to turn invisible?"

Kyle nodded, although the look on his face suggested he was still uncertain. "For it to be completely convincing, we would have to very precisely calculate the refractive index of every immediate point in space. I know it may sound implausible, but a year ago I never would have imagined doing something like restarting your heart. So we should try."

"Why are you interested in invisibility?"

"It's been a while since we've tried to expand our abilities. It's time we tried something new."

Jessi knew he was still hiding something. "Kyle, you can tell me."

Kyle sighed, knowing Jessi might not like the answer. "Ok. Do you remember when we were in the cabin in the woods and we found Adam in a coma?"

Jessi nodded. "Yes."

"I tried to connect with him, but alone I wasn't strong enough." Kyle stepped closer to Jessi. "I couldn't do it until you helped me. You know that being together amplifies our abilities. Together we could finally connect to Grace Kingsley. I needed your help with Adam and I need your help again now."

"What does that have to do with being invisible?"

"Cassidy doesn't want you anywhere near Latnok or Grace Kingsley. He doesn't trust you because of your mother. I can't convince him to let me bring you, so if you master this skill and learn how to hide yourself, you can be there with me without him ever knowing."

Jessi shook her head. "No, Kyle. I won't do it."

"Jessi, please. I know you can never forgive Latnok for what they did to Sarah, but if we wake her for them, Latnok will never ask anything of us again. They'll be out of our lives for good."

"This has nothing to do with Sarah!" Jessi shouted. "It's Grace Kingsley. I'm not going to help you revive her. We can't let her wake up!"

"Why not? I thought you'd want to come with me."

Jessi froze, knowing that she couldn't tell him anything else. Kyle knew that she was hiding something.

"Jessi, what's going on?"

Jessi shook her head, wanting to cry and hating herself for not being able to tell him the truth. "I can't tell you, Kyle."

With that, Jessi turned and ran out of the room, leaving Kyle alone and confused.

* * *

Back at the Latnok headquarters, Nate peered through the window into Grace Kingsley's room. Cassidy was still there at her side, holding her hand and looking at her longingly. Nate rolled eyes in annoyance.

"This is ridiculous," he grumbled to himself. "Who spends a whole hour doing nothing but stand next to someone who's not even awake?"

Nate sat back down against the wall next to his backpack and stared blankly at his laptop screen. The text 'calibration complete' flashed repeatedly on an open window on the monitor. There was nothing more he could do at this point.

After a minute, Nate clicked through the built-in games on his search bar, looking for something to pass the time. Chess? No, too easy.

"Nate? Is the floor comfy for you?"

Nate looked up to see Cassidy out of the room and giving him an odd look. Nate quickly shut his laptop and stood up.

"I… uh… I'm just here to see Grace."

"You could have come in, mate. I wouldn't have stopped you."

Nate shrugged. "It looked like you were having a personal moment with her. I felt bad and I didn't want to disturb you."

Cassidy smiled. "You wouldn't have been a bother. I know that you and my mum were close."

Nate nodded and raised his eyebrows. "Yeah."

"Either way, she's all yours now. Go right ahead."

Cassidy extended his arm toward the door, while Nate picked up his backpack and walked in.

"Oh Nate, by the way." Cassidy turned face Nate again. "I hope you understand that there are no hard feelings about our little disagreement earlier. You know that I only had to insist because Kyle…"

"Yeah, I get it," Nate interrupted, eager to have Cassidy leave. "You're working on something with Kyle. I won't interfere."

Cassidy paused uneasily. "Right. Well then, I'll see you at U-dub sometime soon."

"Yeah, see you."

Cassidy turned around and walked down the hallway. Nate carefully watched him, waiting until he rounded the corner before closing and locking the door. He then walked over to Grace Kingsley's bedside and closed the curtains around them.

"Hey Grace, I'm back. Sorry it's been a bit a longer than usual, there's been a lot going on."

Nate reached into his backpack and pulled out a strange grey device, about the size of a small printer. He plugged one of its cords into his laptop and began attaching electrodes to the woman's head.

"I know you told me that once you were in this 'coma' you wouldn't be able to hear or understand me." Nate raised his eyebrows as he attached the last few electrodes. "But just in case you were lying, I have something to tell you. I figured out who your other son is. And take my word for it, he's a real piece of work."

Nate turned to his laptop, ready to run the program.

"Alright, here goes. You'll be fine, I'm sure you're used to this after all my other visits."


	10. Family Matters

_In many ways, my mind was more at rest then than it had been for a long time. Latnok was no longer threatening my family and even Cassidy seemed eager to make peace with me. Although I didn't understand why they had employed such drastic measures to recruit me, it seemed that all Latnok wanted me to do was help Grace Kingsley recover._

_ But then there was Jessi. We had been through so much together and I had just recently discovered that my feelings for her went far beyond friendly affection. After things had just started going so well, why would she suddenly withdraw herself from me and become so distant? Was it something I did?_

Kyle sat at the table of a nice restaurant with a plate of noodles in front of him. The room was heavily air-conditioned and waiters were running back and forth carrying trays of steak and salad. The entire Trager family sat around the table with him, that is, everyone but Jessi.

"It's so nice to be able to go out as a family and enjoy a good meal, especially after all we've been through recently," remarked Stephen. "I just wish that Jessi had agreed to come along with us."

Nicole eyed Kyle uneasily, remembering what he and Jessi had told her about the problems with Latnok not being over and wondering if that had anything to do with her absence.

"Jessi's been under a lot of stress these past few weeks," she said. "It's understandable that she might need some time to herself."

"Time to herself?" asked Josh. "Then why did I see her hanging out with Kyle and Declan at the Rack?"

"I was just talking with her." Kyle tried to explain.

"Then… why did I see her give you a goodbye kiss? That was kind of weird."

"What?" asked Nicole.

Kyle winced at Josh. "Nicole doesn't like it when Jessi and I do stuff like that."

"Then I know something else she definitely won't like." Lori had said it quietly to herself, but everyone still heard.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nicole asked Kyle.

"What's going on?" Stephen asked confusedly.

Kyle gave Nicole a guilty look. "Can we talk about this later?"

"I'll see to it that we will," Nicole said sternly.

_I could tell that the tension at the table was not just over my relationship with Jessi. Since the night I destroyed the formula, I had been distant with Lori and Josh and in return, they didn't make an effort to keep my secrets from Nicole and Stephen. And even though only Nicole knew it for sure, everyone sensed that I was still hiding something. But they were no longer in danger. It was time to tell them the truth._

"I have something to tell all of you."

The entire table went quiet, as though a confession from Kyle had been long expected. Kyle glanced back and forth at the members of his family before he began. He kept his voice down, just to make sure that they wouldn't be overheard.

"I've still been going to Latnok. They need my help with one more thing."

Stephen was shocked. "Why? I thought you decided that what they were doing was wrong."

"There's a woman there named Grace Kingsley—Cassidy's mother. She's in a coma and she needs my help."

"They think you can heal her?" asked Lori.

"That's what they're hoping. But there's more." Kyle paused. "I've learned that Grace Kingsley is also my biological mother."

"Hold on a second." Josh seemed confused. "How could you have a mother? I thought you were a copy of Adam Baylin."

"Not exactly," explained Kyle. "I may have been created from Adam's DNA, but an egg still needs to be fertilized in order to…"

"Ok, I get it, she's your mom," Josh quickly interrupted. "I have to deal with enough awkwardness on a daily basis as it is. I don't need to add to it by getting the sex talk from you."

"So wait," said Nicole. "You said Grace Kingsley was Cassidy's mother. Does that mean…?"

"Yes. Genetically, Cassidy and I are half-brothers."

As the whole family went quiet again, Kyle looked at each of them. "Don't think that this changes the way I feel about each of you. I don't care what my DNA says. You are my real family."

"I should have seen the resemblance between the two of you," Nicole was trying not to cry. "This whole time, he was right in front of us."

"Nicole, Cassidy has done terrible things. I'm helping him with Grace Kingsley, and after that, I promise I'll never see him again."

"Are you sure that's what you want?"

"I'd have no reason to want anything else. I have everyone I need right here."

Nicole smiled and held Kyle's hand. "I was just so worried about you. I couldn't imagine what kind of danger you might be in and I just wanted it all to be done."

Kyle smiled. "I'm just helping a sick woman get better. And once that's done, that will be the end of it."

Stephen was still confused. "So what does all of this have to do with Jessi? Why has she been acting so odd lately?"

Kyle's eyes narrowed. "I wish I knew."

"Well, does she know about everything you just told us?"

"I tell Jessi everything, and she's helped me this whole time." Kyle paused. "I don't know what's been bothering her, but I need to find out."

_Although I had told my family the truth, there were some things I left out. I hadn't told them about my confrontation with Cassidy and how close I had come to becoming a murderer. Jessi was the only one I could talk to about such things, but it seemed that now, she couldn't talk to me about anything. I had to find out why._

* * *

Adam was there waiting for Jessi when she burst through the doors of the old factory. It was getting dark outside, but the last of the sunlight still glared through the main window.

"You said you wanted to see me again?" he asked.

"I can't do this anymore!" she shouted as she walked up to him. "I can't keep things from him. I need to tell Kyle!"

"You know you can't do that."

"Why not? Because then Latnok would come after you? Well, then maybe that's a risk we should take."

Adam gave her a patient and understanding look. "You don't mean that, Jessi."

"Don't I? You don't understand what Kyle and I have. Before we even became friends, Kyle and I were able to share anything with each other. He told me his secrets even before he told his own family. Now you're asking me to give up the trust that we have for each other."

"Have you had to lie to him?"

"He knows I'm hiding something and he has no idea why I'm doing it. And honestly, I don't either."

Adam paused and then looked Jessi in the eye. "You and Kyle are more than friends now, aren't you?"

Jessi didn't respond, but Adam smiled in acknowledgment.

"I had thought he was still with Amanda," he said. "But I should have seen the signs. You have that sparkle in your eyes that Sarah had when we were first in love. And then you asked about Grace Kingsley."

"Grace Kingsley?"

"You asked whether or not I was romantically involved with her. Understandable, considering that she and I are Kyle's biological parents. Since you and Kyle are so much like your mother and me, you think that any failings I had with her might reflect on your current relationship with Kyle."

"But you and Sarah weren't together forever. What went wrong?"

"Sarah eventually completely lost control. She was volatile and unstable, but nowhere near the level that you were."

Jessi tilted her head, unsure if she was being insulted.

"It became too much for me to deal with," Adam continued. "I left her. But I can already tell you that Kyle is stronger, more patient, and more caring than I was. If he's stood by you to this point, he'll never turn his back on you."

"Are you sure?" Jessi wasn't convinced. "I've never had to keep something this important from him. He has no idea why I would lie to him after everything we've been through."

"Had I known that the two of you were involved this way, I would have approached the matter differently. Kyle already knows more than he should."

Jessi scowled at Adam, unhappy that this was his main concern. "Why do you care more about your own safety than you do Kyle's? You told me how dangerous Grace Kingsley could be. Don't you care that Kyle is still going right to her?"

"Jessi, you don't understand. I'm doing all of this for you and Kyle."

"How?"

"If everything goes as planned, if we do manage to remove Grace Kingsley's influence from Latnok, I can resume my previous position there. Once I do, I can make sure that they stay away from you and Kyle as long as you want them to. But I can't do that if I'm dead."

There was a long silence as Jessi considered what he said.

"Kyle always made it clear to me how much he wanted an ordinary life," she finally said, trying not to tear up. "I never really understood it until now. I just want him and me to be happy together, to be honest with each other, and not have to worry about all these people who want to hurt us and keep us apart."

"And you can have that life," insisted Adam. "But first we have to deal with this."

"So what's your plan? Remove her influence? How am I supposed to do that? I can't go anywhere near Latnok and I can't even talk to Kyle."

Adam paused. "Jessi, you realize that you could put an end to all of this if you wanted to."

Jessi looked up at Adam and nodded. "I could sneak into the Latnok headquarters undetected and find Grace Kingsley. Once I do, I could make a blood vessel burst in her head, killing her without a struggle. Her death would be attributed to her physical condition. Cassidy couldn't blame Kyle for it and Kyle wouldn't know the difference either. There would be nothing more he could do and he'd be free of his arrangement with Latnok."

"Sure seems simple, doesn't it? End her life and your problems end with her."

Jessi thought for a moment. "It's funny. Not long ago, Kyle was planning to do exactly what you said. I risked everything to stop him so that he wouldn't become a murderer. Now I'm considering doing the same thing so that he won't have to."

"You'd do it so that Kyle wouldn't have to get his hands dirty." Adam noticed Jessi's confused face. "It's an expression."

"Right. I knew that." Jessi paused. "I'd do anything for Kyle."

"But, you're not going to do this."

Jessi raised her eyebrows. "How could you tell?"

Adam smiled. "I've learned to pick up on certain things. Especially from Sarah." He paused. "May I ask why?"

"Why I won't kill her? I need an explanation for that?"

"It would protect Kyle and he would never have known about it. I would have considered it for longer than you did."

Jessi smirked. "Well, you're not as smart as I am." Then she paused. "Even if he never knew about it, Kyle still wouldn't want me to do it. He's taught me to be a better person, and I wouldn't be staying true to Kyle if I weren't staying true to myself."

Adam put his hand on Jessi's shoulder. "Kyle's lucky to have you too, I hope you know that. Don't worry, we'll find a better way."

"What did you have in mind?"

"You'll see. It will involve some more training on your part."


	11. Shelter from the Storm

_I had heard Jessi come home late last night, but I knew that wasn't the best time to talk to her. I didn't know what exactly had made her so upset, but I knew that I would have to approach her carefully if I was to get her to talk to me about it._

Kyle sat in his tub, uneasily glancing around his room. The sun didn't shine through his window, as it was a cloudy day, but Kyle still left the lights off. It was more relaxing that way.

As 'She Could be You' played on the record player, Kyle's thoughts of Jessi became more detailed as he relived every moment he had experienced with her. He was there at the school bonfire when their eyes met across the flames for the first time. He was there when he walked into his room to see a girl in his tub who introduced herself as Nicole's new patient. He was there when they connected their minds to destroy C.I.R. and the MadaCorp mainframe. He was there when he said a tearful goodbye to her on the school roof, thinking she would be leaving with Sarah. He was there when they confronted her repressed memories of Sarah's death and their first real kiss that followed.

And then he was there at Jessi's apartment, right after she had stopped him from killing Grace Kingsley. Kyle began to focus more strongly on this particular memory, as some impulse he had made him feel the desire to make this event more vivid. He focused on channeling every feeling and sensation he had that night until he could believe that he was really there with her again, feeling her soft lips against his, feeling the sweat of her body against…

A lamp exploded and Kyle's eyes immediately jolted open. It took a moment for him to bring himself back to reality as he glanced around the room.

_I couldn't spend all day thinking about her, but doing nothing. Jessi hadn't joined the family for breakfast that morning, so maybe it still wasn't the best time, but I couldn't bring myself to wait any longer._

Kyle got up out of his tub and left his room. Jessi's door was open and he could sense her presence nearby, so he stepped inside to see her.

"Hi."

Jessi was at her computer, but when she heard Kyle, she turned around to greet him. She smiled, albeit somewhat nervously. "Hey Kyle."

"How have you been doing?"

"Good."

"You didn't come out to dinner with us last night."

Jessi felt a lump in her throat and her smile faded. "How was it?"

"It would have been better if you were there."

"I'm sorry. I had somewhere I needed to be."

"Where?" Kyle tried not to sound impatient.

Jessi glared at Kyle. "Nowhere important."

"Then why can't you tell me?"

"Kyle, please just let this go!"

"I can't." Kyle put his hand on her shoulder, but Jessi turned her head away from him. "You've been acting strangely ever since you told me that you didn't want to help me wake Grace Kingsley. Does this have something to do with her?"

Jessi angrily turned back to face Kyle. "I don't want to talk about this."

She tried to walk by him, but Kyle grabbed her arm before she could reach the door. "Jessi, you and I understand each other more than anyone else. You said it yourself. And right now I can tell that you're hiding something from me. What I don't understand is why you would do that."

Jessi faced Kyle again. "I'm sorry, Kyle. I just need you to trust me on this."

With that, Jessi freed her arm from Kyle's grip and left the room. Kyle ran after her.

"Jessi, wait!"

Before Kyle and Jessi could reach the front door, they bumped into Nicole, who was coming down the stairs.

"Jessi, Kyle, is everything ok?"

"Everything's fine," Jessi said convincingly before Kyle had a chance to say anything.

"Good, because I've been meaning to talk to both of you."

"About what?" asked Kyle.

"I tried having this conversation with you the nice way." Nicole's tone became harsher. "I thought I had made it clear to both of you that it's not appropriate to pursue a romantic relationship with each other while you're both living in this house. I thought you said it wouldn't happen again, but now it seems that's not the case."

Jessi glared at Nicole. "And I thought I made it clear to you that it's none of your business if Kyle and I make love."

Nicole flinched. "What? What did you say?"

"I said it's none of your business if…"

"Are you having sex?"

"You don't seem to care when your biological children have sex with their boyfriends and girlfriends."

Nicole slowly shook her head, half shocked and half furious. "Ok, first of all, don't think for a minute that I approve of any sex had by Lori or Josh. Second, Kyle is not your boyfriend, not while you both live here."

"Well, that won't be an issue anymore. Because I'm leaving."

"Leaving?" asked Kyle.

Jessi turned to Kyle. "I'm going to stay at Sarah's old apartment. There I won't have to explain myself to anyone."

"Jessi, no, you don't have to do that," insisted Nicole.

Nicole reached out to stop Jessi, but it was too late. She was already out the door and running away. Nicole turned back to Kyle.

"This is exactly what I was afraid would happen if the two of you tried to be together that way. Now you're having relationship drama and the first thing she does is run away." She tried not to sound angry, hoping Kyle would finally see her point.

"Nicole, this has nothing to do with my relationship with Jessi. This has something to do with Latnok. She won't tell me what it is, but if I can get through to her, I can make this right."

"Are you sure?"

Kyle nodded. "Jessi and I can't hide things like this from each other."

Nicole nodded back, feeling guilty for not sensing the real problem with Jessi when she had the chance. "Ok." She looked at Kyle intently. "Kyle, I'm sorry I didn't take the time to listen a minute ago, but you have to understand that I feel hurt and betrayed."

"Betrayed?"

"You promised me that you and Jessi wouldn't express your feelings for each other that way. And I believed you. I never thought that you'd break my trust like that."

"I'm sorry," Kyle said truthfully. "When I told you that it wouldn't happen again, I never meant to go back on it. But when I'm with Jessi… I can't quite explain what happens. It's as though she and I are the only ones left in the world and nothing else matters. I love her."

"Kyle…" Nicole gave him a motherly sympathetic smile. "I know what that's like and I can see how much the two of you care for each other, but this can't work out the way it is. And I certainly can't have Jessi move out just so the two of you can be together. I just don't know what to say at this point."

"Even if we're not together that way, we can't change the way we feel about each other."

"But the two of you are having sex? That's an entirely different discussion we need to have."

"And we'll have that discussion. I promise." Kyle put his hand on Nicole's shoulder. "But right now I need to go after Jessi. She needs me, and I know I can do this."

As reluctant at she was, Nicole nodded and gave Kyle a smile. "Go."

"Thank you." Kyle gave her one more smile before leaving out the door.

As he stood on the street, Kyle looked around, letting his sense of Jessi tell him the direction she had left in. As he began to run after her, a clap of thunder echoed through the neighborhood. Kyle pulled his hood over his head as heavy rain began to fall.

* * *

Nate walked into the Rack, hoping to catch a break from the pouring rain. He wiped his soaking wet hair on the dry part of his sleeve as he looked around the café. They weren't very many costumers that morning, so he wouldn't have to wait in line if he wanted something. Nate walked up to the counter and perused the daily selections on the wall.

"Could I get a medium latte?"

"What are you doing here?"

Nate looked down to see Amanda standing on the other side of the counter, wearing a blue shirt and apron and with an appalled look on her face.

"Great. It's you."

"Yeah, I work here! So answer my question: what are you doing here?"

Nate seemed annoyed. "Getting coffee. And I have somewhere really important I need to be, so make it quick."

"There are thousands of coffee shops in Seattle. Why'd you choose this one?"

"I guess I wasn't thinking. Does this mean you're not going to take my order?"

Amanda folded her arms and glared back at Nate defiantly. "You threatened me and then threw me to the ground. You're lucky I didn't call the police."

"Don't act like it was you had a choice. You didn't call the police because you didn't want to explain how you broke in, knocked me out, and took my stuff."

"You stole those things in the first place."

Nate gave a frustrated sigh. "Fine, you're right." Although he said it, Nate didn't sound completely serious. "I did a terrible thing to you and I'm sorry. I don't expect you to forgive me, I just expect you to take my money and get me my damn cup of coffee."

Amanda angrily rolled her eyes as she turned around to make Nate's latte. As she held an empty cup under the latte machine, in her anger Amanda whipped the lever down too quickly and it broke off in her hand.

"You've got to be kidding me," she said to herself.

"Having problems back there?

Amanda turned around and glared at Nate. "You know what? I changed my mind. You can get your coffee somewhere else."

"You're going to turn away a paying costumer? I don't think your manager would be very happy about that."

"What's your problem? Do you just get a kick out of torturing people for no good reason? First Kyle and now me?"

Nate glared angrily at her. "Don't act like you know what's going on between me and Kyle."

"Oh, I know." Amanda folded her arms again. "Kyle told me everything."

Nate paused, unsure if she was bluffing. "What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb with me. I know the whole story. I know who he really is and I know all about what Latnok really does. They kidnapped me on prom night and they tried to hurt the Tragers."

"Ok," Nate tried to explain. "First of all, I had nothing to do with either of those decisions."

"Really. Well did you know that Grace Kingsley—Kyle's supposed biological mother—is also a member of Latnok and that she's the one behind Cassidy tracking down and attacking Kyle?"

Nate paused and then he looked at Amanda more seriously than before. "Has Kyle ever met Grace Kingsley?"

Amanda thought for a moment. "I… I don't think so."

Nate nodded. "Well I have. And I can tell you that she's a warm, caring woman who has challenged me intellectually more than anyone else ever has. Even when everyone else just saw me as some arrogant, overconfident, hotshot kid, she appreciated my potential and became my mentor, never turning me away if I ever wanted a new project to work on. I always wanted to be the best and she let me believe that I could be." He paused. "And I haven't been able to talk to her for almost four years, because she's in a coma."

Amanda opened her mouth in shock. "I'm… so sorry. I didn't know."

"Well then don't act like you do." Neither of them said anything for a moment, and then Nate continued, as he stared off into space. "Because of her, I really had a place for myself at Latnok. And then Kyle shows up and makes me feel no smarter than a middle schooler. It doesn't matter how hard I try—he'll always be better than me. Because of him, I can't get the thought out of my head that I might never be good enough for Latnok."

In a moment of sympathy, Amanda put her hand on his. "I know how you feel."

Nate looked up at her. "You do?"

Amanda nodded. "Kyle made you question if you'd ever be good enough. Let's just say I know what that's like."

There was another pause as Nate looked back at her. Finally, Amanda smiled. "I can fix the machine," she said. "Just wait a minute and I'll get you that latte."

* * *

As the torrential rain continued outside and small rivers of rainwater flowed through the streets, everyone sought shelter indoors and quickly ran into the nearest shops. Everyone that is, except for one girl.

Jessi continued walking down the sidewalk, acting as though she barely noticed the rain. Suddenly a strange feeling came over her and she turned around. There didn't appear to be anyone behind her, but Jessi still scowled.

"Stop following me!"

Knowing he couldn't hide from her, Kyle stepped out of an alleyway and walked up to Jessi. He removed his hood to show his whole face as he stared into her eyes.

"Jessi, I know something's wrong. If this is about Latnok, you need to tell me what it is."

"Kyle, I can't! Now please just leave and stop asking me!"

"You can tell me anything, Jessi. I thought we both understood that, especially after what we've been through together."

Jessi shook her head, hoping the rain would hide her tears. "If there was any way for me to tell you, I would. You just have to let me take care of this by myself."

"You don't have to do this alone!"

Before Kyle could stop her, Jessi turned around and leapt into the air away from him. This wasn't a normal jump, nor was it even a jump like the one that had sent Kyle to the ceiling of the Latnok warehouse. Jessi soared hundreds of feet into the air, landing somewhere off in the distance. Kyle stood alone in the rain, his eyes wide open in disbelief.

_At first I didn't understand how Jessi had managed such a powerful leap, but then I realized—it was the rain. As she flew through the air, Jessi had an abundance of water molecules to push against and propel herself even farther than before._

Standing where Jessi had, Kyle crouched down and then sprung into the air after her. Reversing his polarity against that of the raindrops behind him, Kyle went up just as high as Jessi had. He looked down to see the buildings and streets below him become tinier as a flash of lightning illuminated the sky around him.

Kyle landed on another sidewalk elsewhere in the city, his impact leaving cracks in the cement. Jessi, who was only a few yards away down the block, was startled to see him again. She quickly turned around and performed another massive leap and Kyle once again leapt after her.

This time, they both landed on the rooftop of one of Seattle's taller buildings. Knowing that jumping again wouldn't get her away from him, Jessi turned around to face Kyle.

"You can't run from me, Jessi. You know I won't give up on you that easily."

Kyle began to approach her, but he was interrupted by an earsplitting clap of thunder. Jessi reached her arm into the sky to act as a lightning rod, drawing the lightning bolt right to her. As powerful as it was, Jessi managed to absorb the electricity and channel it through her body. She put her hand out towards Kyle, warning him not to step any closer as her skin glowed and tingled with voltage.

"Stay back!" yelled Jessi. "If you come near me, the electricity will hurt you!"

"No it won't." Kyle took another step closer to her. "Because you won't let it."

"Kyle, stop!" Jessi tried to take another step back, but an air conditioning unit blocked her way. "You don't want to do this."

"Yes I do." Kyle took another step closer, looking intently into Jessi's eyes as the pouring rain continued to fall. "I'm in this with you. Just as I've always been."

"Kyle, no!"

A powerful surge of electricity lit up Jessi's hand, but Kyle didn't back away. He finally reached out and took her hand in his, completing the circuit. The massive bolt of electric power went from Jessi to Kyle, but it was painless, gentle even, as Kyle absorbed the energy, completely unharmed.

Jessi looked at Kyle with wide eyes, anxiously shivering and shaking. She knew she had to tell him to leave, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything because she didn't want to see him go. Kyle put his other hand on her cheek, ready to tell her again that he would never give up on her, but he found that no words came out of his mouth.

Instead, Kyle leaned forward and gave Jessi a passionate kiss, and she put her arms around him as she kissed him back. Raindrops fell between their bodies as Kyle pulled her closer to him, his hands tightly grasping her back. Another flash of lighting lit up the sky as Kyle pushed Jessi against the air conditioning unit and kissed her neck.

Although Nicole had just talked to him about Jessi, Kyle couldn't stop himself and didn't even pause to think about her instructions. Just as he had said before, the whole world seemed to disappear and nothing mattered to him in that moment except him and Jessi.

* * *

Lori was in the kitchen, searching for a snack, when the refrigerator bulb suddenly went out. She paused for a moment and then looked up to see that the whole house had gone dark.

"Oh God, Kyle…"

"Kyle?" Josh walked into the room. "What did Kyle do?"

Lori winced at her little brother. "I'll tell you when you're older."

* * *

Kyle and Jessi lay next to each other on the roof of the building, covered only by Kyle's hoodie, which they used as a blanket. The rain was finally beginning to let up as they stared into each other's eyes.

_In a moment at the height of our intimacy, our minds had connected and suddenly I knew everything that Jessi had been hiding from me. A flood of emotions filled me—a mixture of intense happiness at knowing that Adam Baylin was still alive and horror of knowing the truth behind Grace Kingsley. I knew why Jessi had tried so hard to keep this a secret._

Kyle tenderly put his hand on Jessi's cheek. "I know now."

Jessi closed her eyes and nodded, putting her hand on his. "I wanted to tell you so badly."

"I know you did, Jessi. But you did the right thing."

Jessi opened her eyes. "So what happens now? You can't try to wake Grace Kingsley again, or she'll see through your thoughts and know that Adam's still alive. She'll find him and kill him."

Kyle smiled at her. "Jessi, I meant what I said when I told you that we're in this together. And together, there is nothing we can't do. It might be tricky, but I can help you find a way to put an end to Latnok's threat."


	12. Last Piece of the Puzzle

As Kyle walked with Jessi through Seattle's industrial district, his cell phone began to ring.

"I should take this." Kyle put the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Hey Kyle."

"Declan, how are you doing?"

"I'm guessing not as good as you are. My lamp told me that you got lucky last night with Jessi. Unless… it was actually just a power outage from the storm."

"No, you were right the first time." Kyle grinned. "I did get lucky last night."

Jessi smiled and rolled her eyes at Kyle's comment as they continued walking towards the abandoned factory in the distance.

"Nice job, man. So I take it the two of you patched things up?"

"We did. And I have important news. Adam Baylin is alive, and we're going to see him right now."

"Are you sure you should be telling him that?" Jessi interrupted his conversation. "Adam said that people shouldn't know about him being alive yet."

Kyle nodded. "If all goes well, the threat will be dealt with and it won't matter who knows. And if things don't go well, we're going to need people we can trust to protect Adam."

Jessi nodded in agreement. "In that case, we need to let Foss know too."

"I already talked to Foss this morning."

"How could Adam be alive?" Declan was still on the line. "Foss told you he died."

"Adam faked his death to protect himself from Grace Kingsley," explained Kyle. "You were right to suspect that her motives were far more sinister that we had been led to believe."

"So I'm guessing you have a plan to stop her?"

"Not yet. But we're going to go talk to Adam right now. Hopefully, we'll figure out a solution. I have to go now. I'll let you know the whole story the next chance I get."

Kyle hung up the phone as he opened the doors to the factory and walked in alongside Jessi.

_I knew that Adam might not approve of me telling Declan and Foss about his reappearance, after all, he hadn't even wanted me to know. Adam was used to being on his own, but I was used to relying on other people. I would have to prove to him that my way was better, even if it did put everyone at a greater risk._

Adam was there waiting for Jessi, but a look of dismay spread across his face as he saw two figures approaching him instead of one. As troubled as he was over the implications of Kyle knowing the truth, the joy of seeing his protégé again overcame his anxiety and he smiled.

"It's good to see you again, Kyle."

Adam extended his hand and Kyle shook it with a grin.

"I've missed you, Adam."

"I was hoping I'd see you again soon, although I wish it had been under better circumstances."

"I'm sorry I couldn't keep your secret," Jessi said to Adam.

"You didn't do anything wrong," insisted Kyle.

"Kyle, did she tell you everything?"

Kyle nodded. "I understand the situation."

"Then you realize why this complicates matters."

"I know. But I can help you with this if you give me the chance."

"The plan you gave me could be adapted to include Kyle," Jessi suggested to Adam.

Adam nodded. "Jessi's right, but now we're only going to have one shot at it. If we fail, Grace Kingsley will know the truth."

"What was the plan?" asked Kyle.

"I was going to sneak into the Latnok headquarters and find Grace Kingsley," explained Jessi. "Then I would connect my mind to hers and create a neural block."

"A neural block?"

"Yes," said Adam. "It would prevent key neurons in her brain from activating, effectively ensuring that Grace Kingsley would never wake up from her coma. No one at Latnok would notice any difference."

Kyle still had concerns. "Is that any better than killing her?"

"She'd still be alive and her mind would still be intact. I know it's far from ideal, but given the alternatives, it's the best option we have."

Kyle nodded. "I wish it didn't have to be that way, but you're right."

Jessi seemed concerned. "If Latnok doesn't know the difference, they'll still expect you to visit her and try to heal her."

"Then afterwards, I'll continue going and make them think I'm still trying to wake her. At least until Cassidy gives up and lets me go. As long as the threat of her waking up is over, I'll keep up my part in the charade."

Adam smiled in admiration at Kyle's commitment. "The procedure is somewhat complicated and it would have required more training on Jessi's part if she were to do it alone. However, if both of you go together, the task will be simple given the combined power of your minds."

"Then we can go first thing tomorrow. All we need is a way to keep Jessi undetected."

Jessi smirked. "You already showed me how to do that."

With that, Jessi began to focus, gradually bending the light around her. Kyle and Adam watched as Jessi's appearance became distorted and blurry until she finally disappeared altogether. For a few seconds, the spot where Jessi stood still appeared suspiciously wavy, but soon it was as though there were nothing there at all.

Kyle grinned. "Invisibility."

"Impressed?" Jessi's voice came from behind them.

Kyle turned around, but Jessi was still nowhere to be seen. Although he couldn't see her, now that he focused he could sense her presence in front of him. Kyle reached out for her until his hand touched hers, at which point Jessi reappeared.

"You snuck around me so quietly."

Jessi smiled proudly. "And as long as I don't move too quickly, no one will be able to see any distortion."

"And it's not too much of a strain on you?"

"Kyle, I'll be fine."

Kyle nodded and then turned back to Adam. "If something goes wrong—if somehow Latnok finds out about you—we're going to need to keep you safe. I told Foss and Declan about the situation and they can watch over you while Jessi and I go to Latnok."

"They know?"

"Adam, you're going to need to rely on other people to protect you. People you can trust."

"Kyle, the more people we bring in on this, the more likely it is that Latnok will trace everything back to us. My sources tell me that Declan has been spending time with a girl who's a junior member. And Latnok won't underestimate Foss like Zzyzx or even MadaCorp did, they've always kept tabs on him. One wrong move and either one of them could be compromised."

'Then we won't make any wrong moves. Trust me, they can help keep you safe."

Jessi tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. "They both already know about you being alive. It would just be stupid to ignore their help now."

Adam finally nodded in agreement. "Then let them both know that they can meet me here. We'll go ahead with the plan, just as you said."

Kyle nodded. "We won't let you down. I promise."

* * *

Lori walked across the steps leading up to U-dub, glancing back and forth as though she were looking for someone. Finally, she spotted Mark with his backpack, just as he was heading back from class.

"There you are." Lori waked up to him. "I was wondering when I'd see you again."

Mark looked over. "Hey Lori. Listen, I'm kind of busy at the moment…"

"You know about Kyle, don't you?" Lori cut right to the chase, uninterested in playing games.

Mark adjusted his glasses. "Kyle?"

"You know, six feet tall, good at math, sleeps in a tub?

"What about him?"

Lori had an annoyed look. "You were asking to see him earlier. Perhaps you found something out about him? Maybe about how he's different from most other people?"

"Hold on." Mark tilted his head. "You… you know about how he was gestated in one of those artificial pods?"

Lori finally smiled and nodded. "There we go. I was wondering how long it would take us to get here."

"You knew about him this whole time? When were you planning on telling me?"

Lori laughed. "Try never."

"Never?" Mark didn't think it was funny.

"Come on, Mark. It's Kyle's secret and it's not my place to tell anyone, not even you."

"Only his secrets seem to have something to do with Latnok, which I'm a part of. If I want to continue being a part of Latnok, I need to know what I'm getting myself into."

"Well, what matters is that you know his secrets now and we can be open with each other again. I already had to go through this with Declan and I really didn't feel like going through it again with you."

"Declan knows? You could tell Declan everything, but you can't tell me?"

"No." Lori rolled her eyes. "Actually, Kyle told him, not me."

Mark thought for a minute. "It all makes sense now. That time when you and I had dessert at the Rack with Declan and Jackie, the two of you kept pressing us for information. You really don't trust me, do you?"

"Mark, I didn't say that."

"Whatever Lori." Mark shook his head and backed away. "You and Declan and Kyle can go off and have a good life. Because I don't have to put up with this."

As Mark turned around and walked away, Lori sighed to herself. "And… there's drama anyway. Great."

* * *

_This was the day I had been waiting for my whole life. Today, if everything was to go as planned, my life might finally go back to normal. Maybe 'normal' was the wrong word—as I knew that afterwards, Jessi and I would continue to build our abilities and prepare ourselves to one day change the world—but if we could successfully keep Grace Kingsley in her coma forever, the threat of Latnok would be over. The last time I felt this way was the day I stopped Latnok from restarting the experiment—only to find out afterwards about Grace Kingsley and to learn my task wasn't over yet. I hoped more than ever that no similar revelations awaited me this time. Hopefully, Grace Kingsley truly was the last piece of the puzzle._

_I was also nervous knowing that everything had to go according to plan. Our plan was simple, but if one mistake were made, if anyone at Latnok were to realize that we were plotting against them, all of this would have been for nothing and we would have a whole new set of problems._

Kyle stood at the entrance to the Latnok headquarters, deftly hiding his nervousness. Jessi stood alongside him, completely invisible. After waiting for a minute, Kyle was greeted by the doorman.

"Come right inside. Mr. Cassidy is already waiting for you."

Kyle nodded and walked through the door and up the stairs, with Jessi close behind him. He kept his senses sharp, making sure that Jessi was still there with him and listening for any approaching members of Latnok. Their voices echoed in Kyle's head as he checked their conversations for any clue that someone might be on to them:

"Have you seen the latest test results?"

"The new students from the sigma branch show great promise."

"You need to augment the formula to account for cell degeneration."

No one made any comment about him or Jessi. Kyle shook his head as he tried to convince himself that he was just being paranoid.

After climbing the stairs for what seemed like hours, they made it to the top floor and walked down the hall to Grace Kingsley's room. Kyle stepped through the door to see Cassidy standing next to his unconscious mother.

"Kyle, glad to see you again. For a moment there, I was worried you had decided not to come back."

Kyle shrugged, trying not to arouse suspicion. "You didn't really give me a choice."

Cassidy smiled. "We all have a choice, mate. And I for one am very grateful to have your help and cooperation."

"Cassidy… is that you?" The soft voice came from Grace Kingsley.

Cassidy looked down at the woman and his eyes met with hers. His face filled with wonder and his eyes sparkled.

"Mum?"


	13. Initiation Day

"Mum? Is that really you? Did you say something just now?" Cassidy looked hopefully into Grace Kingsley's open eyes as he held her hand.

"Yes Dearie, it's me. It's Mum." She had a gentle voice with an English accent not unlike Cassidy's.

She sat up in her hospital bed, quickly enough to startle Cassidy. "Easy now Mum, you just woke up. Please don't move too fast or you could hurt yourself."

Grace ignored Cassidy's instructions—her eyes were fixated on the young man that stood in the doorway. "You're Kyle."

Kyle's eyes were wide and his mouth was open as he nodded his head. "Hi."

"I can't believe you're up." Although Cassidy was used to hiding his true feelings, at this moment he could not contain his joy. "I was beginning to worry that I might never talk to you again."

She turned back to Cassidy and gave him a caring hug. "You know I'd never leave you."

"Hold on." Cassidy took out his pager. "I need to notify the doctor. Try to stay still."

Grace nodded. "Alright."

Cassidy pressed a few buttoned and then smiled again. "He'll be here right away." He then looked up at the doorway with a confused expression. "Where did Kyle go?"

* * *

Kyle was already outside the building, walking away from Latnok at a fast pace. When he had made it a reasonable distance away, Jessi, who had been invisible up until this point, reappeared next to him.

"We missed our chance." She raised her eyebrows anxiously. "We can't keep her from waking up now, because she's already awake."

"It's worse than that." Kyle stopped walking and they looked each other in the eye. "She knows everything. She knows that Adam is alive and she knows what we were planning."

"How?"

"I don't know, but when she looked at me, I could just tell that she already saw everything I was trying to hide from her."

"How is that possible? You didn't even try to connect with her."

"Jessi, she called me 'Kyle'."

Jessi paused as she realized what this meant. "She only would have known you as 781227—you weren't given the name Kyle until after she went into the coma."

Kyle nodded. "She knows."

Jessi's eyes widened. "We need to get Adam!"

* * *

As Kyle and Jessi burst through the doors to the abandoned factory, they found themselves standing face to face with Tom Foss.

"You're back early. What happened?"

Kyle's eye's widened anxiously. "Foss, is Adam still here?"

"I'm here, Kyle." Adam walked over to see them, and Declan followed close behind him.

"Kyle?" asked Declan. "What's going on?"

"It didn't go as planned." Jessi quickly tried to explain. "Grace Kingsley woke up."

A look of horror came over Adam's face. "No…"

"It's true," said Kyle. "And she knows everything that I know. About our plan—about you."

"What are you talking about?" asked Foss. "How?"

"Kyle." Adam tried to stay calm. "Did you connect with her?"

"No—or I wasn't trying too. I didn't want to let her, but somehow she read my mind."

Foss turned to Adam. "Then she knows about this safe house too. You're not safe here, we need to leave now."

"And go where?" asked Jessi.

"I still have a few backup locations in mind. No one knows about them but me, so they should be secure for now. I'll take Adam, are the two of you coming?"

"I'll go," volunteered Kyle.

Jessi nodded. "So will I."

Kyle turned to her. "Jessi, no. I need you to go back home."

"You don't need to look out for me. I can do this."

"I know you can. Which is why I need you to protect the Tragers. Now Latnok might have reason to go after them again, and you're the only other person who can look after them like I can."

Jessi stared back at him with wide eyes. "Kyle, I don't want to leave you again. Not now. I'm afraid of what might happen to you."

Kyle put his hand on her cheek. "I need you to do this for them. We'll see each other again soon, I promise."

Jessi put her hand on his and closed her eyes, and then finally nodded. "I'll make sure they're safe."

Foss grew increasingly anxious. "We'll take my car. Adam, Kyle, you're with me."

"Hold on." Declan stepped forward. "What about me?"

"Go home. You'll only slow us down."

"The hell I will! Just because I don't have superpowers doesn't mean I can't help out. I can protect someone just as well as you can!"

Foss seemed unimpressed. "Oh really. How many years of special operations experience have you had?"

"What? None."

Foss nodded. "I didn't get where I was by playing basketball. This isn't a game, kid."

"I helped you get Ballantine's ring when we broke into MadaCorp."

"I remember. Because of your hurt ankle, I had to stay behind and get captured."

"Foss, we're wasting time!" shouted Kyle. "Let Declan come along."

Foss looked at Kyle and then finally sighed. He reluctantly reached into his coat and pulled out an extra handgun, which he handed to Declan. "Have you ever fired one of these?"

Declan took the weapon. "My Dad used to take me hunting."

"Good enough," grumbled Foss. "Don't forget to hit the safety."

A moment later, the entire group was out the door. As Jessi took off sprinting for the Trager house, everyone else piled into Foss's car. Declan took the passenger seat next to Foss, while Kyle and Adam took the back. The tires screeched against the road as Foss stepped on the gas and drove away.

Kyle looked out the window at the passing buildings as they sped down the street.

_Everything had happened so quickly that I barely had time to consider what I had seen back at Latnok with Grace Kingsley. Adam had convinced me that she was dangerous, and I trusted him, but still some part of me hoped that he was wrong. From the brief moment I had with her, she seemed like she could still be a kind, caring person. Even Cassidy acted differently around her._

* * *

The members of Latnok sat around the round table at the heart of the Latnok headquarters. The room was dark, albeit a circle of lights directly above the table, and everyone murmured excitedly at the news that had been going around. There was one empty chair today—the one next to Cassidy.

As the meeting finally began, Cassidy stood up and faced the group with a proud smile on his face.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my privilege and most profound honor to share some truly wonderful news with you today. Every so often, our organization is blessed with a true genius and visionary—a legend if you will. Unfortunately, our history with such extraordinary individuals has been rocky at best. Some have left, disappeared, or even betrayed us. But today, I am overjoyed to announce to all of you that someone has returned to us. Trusted friends and members of Latnok, I present to you my mother, Grace Kingsley."

The members rose to their feet as the door opened and Grace Kingsley stepped through. She no longer wore the hospital gown—she now wore a suit just like the other members and her red hair was tied back. A warm smile was on her face and although she seemed very awake and alert, she still walked using a cane. As the men and women of Latnok took their seats again, she sat down next to Cassidy. Although most of the people at the table seemed thrilled at her return, a blond man across the table eyed her with displeasure. Grace glanced from side to side at her peers, ready to make an announcement.

"My friends, I can't tell you how happy I am to be here with all of you again."

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" One of the other women seemed genuinely worried. "You only just woke up from the coma this morning. I wasn't expecting to see you down here for quite a while."

Grace smiled at her. "I appreciate your concern, but I can assure you that I am quite alright. We have important matters to attend to and I intend to do my part."

"Yes, important matters," grumbled the blond man. "We should start with you explaining these to all of us."

The man reached into his briefcase and took out a small stack of papers.

"These were your MRI results while you were in the coma," he said as he passed them across the table to her. "It goes without saying that they're off the charts for a coma patient."

Grace studied the results and then looked back up at him. "Mr. Crossgate, you say that as though I've done something wrong."

He raised his eyebrows. "Not at all, Mrs. Kingsley." His voice was still hostile. "I simply asked that you explain them to us. And if you truly have done nothing wrong, then that's exactly what you'll do."

"Now people," Cassidy interrupted. "I know you have a lot of questions, but my mother just recovered earlier today. Perhaps we could save the interrogation for when she's feeling a mite better."

Grace put her hand on Cassidy's shoulder. "Dearie, please. I can handle this."

She turned back to face the center of the table. There was a pitcher of water for in case anyone got thirsty, and as Grace focused, it began to shake and rattle. Finally, the water inside moved up out of its container and into the air, suspended above the table as a spherical mass of liquid. Murmurs of disbelief erupted as Grace lowered the water back into the pitcher.

"Now you all see what we, what any of us, can accomplish if we take the necessary risks and don't hold back. Adam Baylin's careful, limited approach to advancement was getting us nowhere." She paused and smiled. "But what you see here—this is the true future of Latnok."

Mr. Crossgate glared at her. "I've always been a staunch supporter of Adam's vision and I don't take kindly to you slandering his name. Don't act as though we don't know about your little experiments and all the damage you've caused yourself. Even Baylin pushed himself hard enough that it killed him."

Grace shook her head. "Now that's where you're wrong. Adam Baylin is still alive."

The table went silent. Mr. Crossgate stared back at her. "That can't be true."

Grace nodded. "Oh, but it is. Adam Baylin is very much alive and well. He's planning to destroy Latnok and he's working with Kyle."

"And I suppose 781227 just told you this when he stopped by?" asked one of the other men.

"In a manner of speaking, yes. Adam is plotting against us as we speak. That man truly has a brilliant mind, but I know that we are smarter than he is. We won't give him the chance to attack us. Not if we eliminate him first."

Mr. Crossgate angrily slammed his fist on the table and stood up. "Are you mad? Am I the only one at this table who remembers what Adam Baylin has done for Latnok? If he really is alive, we are not going to hunt him down and kill him just because she has a hunch about some plot. Not while I have anything to say about it."

"Is that so?"

Grace gave him an odd look. Suddenly, Mr. Crossgate's eyes widened and he fell to the floor, motionless. As gasps were heard across the table, the two members on either side of him got up to see if he was all right. One of them looked back at the group in horror.

"He has no pulse. He's dead."

Everyone turned to Grace Kingsley. "Did you do that?" someone asked.

Grace looked as though she was disgusted that anyone even ask. "Of course not! From what I can tell, he died of a brain hemorrhage."

As a few men from security came in to remove the body, anxious murmurs continued over the table. Cassidy uneasily eyed his mother, but she gave him a reassuring smile before turning back to the center.

"Are there any other objections to our current course of action?"

"Only one." An older man spoke up. "Our bylaws state that there must be at least 12 active senior members attending for a decision of this magnitude. Due to recent losses, we were down to 11 total before you woke up. Now with the death of Mr. Crossgate, that number stands again at 11."

Grace nodded. "Not to worry. I've already found a replacement." With that, she held up a small communication device and spoke into it. "You may enter."

The doors opened and in walked Nate, with a smug grin on his face. He had recently shaved and gotten a haircut, and instead of his usual long-sleeved shirt he now wore a black suit.

Grace smiled proudly. "As you all know, Nathaniel Harrison is a graduate student at the University of Washington and he has been one of our top junior members for over 7 years. He has personally helped me with some of my most challenging projects and I can say, beyond any doubt, that he is ready to join our ranks."

"I'm not sure about this," said one of the other women. "He's too young. We've never had anyone his age become a senior member."

"Now, I wasn't much older than he was when we began what would become our greatest experiment," argued Grace. "You know that Mr. Harrison is genius, but I'll tell you now that he's more than that. He is driven and he will stop at nothing to achieve greatness. He's exactly the kind of person that Latnok needs." She turned to Cassidy. "My son has also watched his progress over the years. I'm sure he'll vouch for Mr. Harrison as well."

Cassidy paused and then looked at Nate. "Yes of course," he finally said. "Nate is a brilliant young man and I'm sure he'll fit in here splendidly."

Grace nodded. "All in favor?"

One by one, each person put his or her right hand down with the Latnok ring facing up, and then put his or her left hand on the right wrist. A few members were hesitant, but in the end, the entire table was in agreement.

Grace smiled. "So it's decided."

Nate raised his eyebrows. "I'm honored."

Grace stood up from the table and walked over to Nate, still relying on her cane. "Raise your right hand." He followed her instructions. "Do you solemnly swear to uphold the principles of Latnok and hereby devote your life to the pursuit of science and the advancement of humanity?"

"I do."

"Now extend your right hand to me."

As Nate held out his hand, Grace reached into her pocket and took out a new Latnok ring.

"I had this ring made specially for you the day we met." She paused. "Because there was no doubt in my mind that this day would come."

She carefully put the ring onto Nate's hand. "Nathaniel Harrison, you are now a full member of Latnok. You will always have a place at our table."

Nate grinned and nodded. "Thank you."

Grace turned back to the other members. "You all know how I am with sentimental moments, but rest assured I haven't forgotten our task at hand. Every minute we waste here is a minute Adam Baylin can use against us, but we won't let him. We're going to find him, and I know exactly where to look."


	14. The King's Gambit

The sun shined up above in the Seattle sky as midday approached. It was as a perfectly clear and sunny day, although several clouds had begun to appear on the horizon. The bright sunlight reflected off the metal siding of the roof of an old factory, along with the windshields of the small fleet of cars that surrounded it.

Grace Kingsley leaned against one these cars, cane in hand. She waited for a report as a dozen Latnok henchmen scurried around the premises, checking for any signs of the man they were looking for. Although the atmosphere seemed tense as security personnel barked orders to one another, Grace calmly waited as she studied her surroundings. She stared in wonder at the way the light reflected off the various metal surfaces, appreciating the beauty of the phenomenon as though it were her first time seeing such a sight.

Cassidy, wearing a pair of sunglasses to shield his eyes, approached her to deliver the news.

"The men have searched every corner of the building. The place is completely abandoned. No one's been here for decades."

Grace turned to look at Cassidy. "Or they just left minutes ago."

"Yes, well, I already have our guys stationed at every major exit the city has. Adam Baylin won't be getting out of Seattle."

"You don't know that, dearie. Kyle is with him."

"Mum, are you sure?"

"Why would I be unsure?"

"I'm not entirely certain that you're aware of the full situation. Kyle was working with us—helping us wake you as a matter of fact."

Grace smiled and put her hand on her son's shoulder. "Cassidy dear, I understand the situation far more than you could know. I've seen everything Kyle has been through."

Cassidy paused and then removed his sunglasses. "What are you talking about?"

She looked at him intently. "You kidnapped his sweetheart. You threatened and manipulated his adopted family. It's no wonder the boy doesn't trust you."

Cassidy glanced around uneasily and then looked back at his mother. "Mum, you told me exactly what to do should anything ever happen to you. Your instructions were perfectly clear. Should the boy ever awaken from his pod, I was to assess his abilities and facilitate his introduction to Latnok. I was to make sure he'd have a relationship with us, at any cost. Obviously I've had to change things up a bit since I realized he could help you recover, but you see why I did the things I did."

Grace shook her head. "For someone so good at working with people and getting them to do what you want, you sure went out of your way to antagonize your poor brother."

"And what would you have had me do instead? He was clearly hostile to Latnok from the start."

"I might have tried talking to him, just being honest."

Cassidy raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "That's it? Honesty? About us?"

"Dearie, Kyle is our family and he has just as much a place at Latnok as you do. You'll always be the face of our organization, but long after I'm gone, he'll be the brain behind it."

Cassidy glared at her with displeasure. "If it's so important to have someone as smart as him help you lead Latnok, and if I've truly botched things up as much as you say, then you might not want to add to it by killing his father Adam Baylin—a man he loves and admires."

Grace looked off into the distance, unfazed by Cassidy's glare. "He was willing to kill me, even after he learned I was his mother. He could learn to accept the death of his father as well. It's only a matter of getting him to believe in our vision of Latnok's future. In time, he will accept us as his real family, and when he does, he will turn on Adam and see through his lies."

"Easier said than done. If you really have seen everything, then you've seen what he'll do for those he cares about."

"Ma'am? Sir?" They were approached by one of the henchmen. "What are your orders?"

"Move out in search of our target, standard search pattern," replied Cassidy.

"With one small change," interjected Grace. "I'd like two additional cars following mine. Call it a hunch."

Grace waited a moment while the Latnok hired gunmen sorted into their respective cars. Cassidy left for his car as well, and as soon as he was out of earshot, she opened the back door to her car and sat down next to Nate, who had been watching the whole conversation unfold through the tinted windows.

"Head due south," she instructed the driver.

"So I take it no luck with this location?" asked Nate.

Grace waited until she had put up the soundproof barrier between them and the driver before turning to the young man, who was still wearing his suit.

"Not yet I'm afraid, but I have an idea of the direction they were heading."

Nate raised his eyebrows. "I've never seen Cassidy get flustered like that."

"We do tend to butt heads now and again. I love the rascal to death, but we always seemed to disagree on how to get things done. That and I could never talk science with him." She then smiled warmly at Nate. "But then again, that's what I have you for, my little brainiac."

Nate smiled jokingly. "It's been four years, Grace. You don't have to call me that—I'm not a kid anymore."

"Nonsense. You'll always be my little brainiac."

Nate paused and then a more sincere look came over his face as he felt the new Latnok ring on his finger. "Thanks again for what you said earlier today when I was sworn in."

"I meant every word of it."

"And I wasn't even sure you'd pull it off, convincing the other members and all. You say a spot just opened up for me?"

"That's how it happened. It was just your lucky day."

"I can't believe it. I've been excited for this for so long." He paused for a moment. "So what's it like? Now that you're awake?"

Grace smiled. "It's more wonderful than you could ever imagine. I can see and control the world around me in so many new ways."

"Sweet. Any signs of stress on your system?"

"Nothing major yet. I'll be careful when it comes time to push my abilities to the limit. Does anyone at Latnok suspect anything? Cassidy in particular?"

"Nothing to worry about. Peculiar MRI results aside, they all still think that it was just a regular old coma." Nate eyed Grace quizzically. "By the way, I didn't expect you to wake up for at least another year. Before we set everything up to put you under, you said that you'd need at least five years of the 'therapy' before you'd reach your full potential."

"I had no choice in the matter. I could tell that Kyle was planning on doing something to me, something that might prevent me from ever waking up. My only option was to wake up then and there."

"And yet you still want to find him and work with him?"

"Nathaniel, he's my son. I know the two of you have gotten off on the wrong foot, but Kyle is simply misguided. Adam has corrupted him with his treacherous schemes."

"I have heard about what Adam Baylin has done for Latnok. Didn't the two of you use to be friends?"

Grace shook her head. "That time is long passed."

* * *

Kyle sat in the back of Foss's truck, next to Adam and behind Foss and Declan. Adam glanced around uneasily, although it was unclear if his discomfort was from the apprehension of Latnok's attack or the simple fact that he wasn't used to being with so many people at once. Declan kept his new handgun at his side and eyed each passing building for possible signs of danger. Foss, on the other hand, kept his trained eyes fixed on the road ahead.

"How much farther is it?" asked Kyle.

"We'll be there in a few minutes," muttered Foss. "Provided we don't run into any unexpected surprises along the way."

"You mean trouble from Latnok."

"It's a big city," Declan remarked. "How many of those Latnok guys are there?"

"Only about a dozen senior members," answered Foss. "Maybe about five times that number for the junior members. But if you're talking about hired guns, they've got a small army."

"What can a bunch of henchmen do to us when we've got someone like Kyle?"

"It's not the henchmen we should be worried about." Adam turned to Kyle. "It's Grace Kingsley. We don't know if her abilities could match, or even exceed your own."

"Then that means I'm the only one who can confront her, and I alone will face her if I have to."

"Kyle." Adam didn't continue until Kyle looked at him. "The reason I'm here is so that someday I can retake charge of Latnok and make the world a safer place for you. It will all be in vain if you get yourself killed."

"You're wrong. Adam, you know that you're more than that for me."

"Not this time, Kyle. I've done everything I could to protect you, but I won't let you do the same for me, not if it puts you in danger. If it comes down to it, you will let me go to save yourself."

_This was the man who had given me life, and now he was willing to give his own life for me as well. In that moment I saw how much Adam truly cared for me—which made me all the more certain that I had to protect him._

"Then it's not going to come down to that. You and I are both coming out of this alive."

They were interrupted as Foss slammed on the brakes. His red truck skidded to a stop as the passengers inside were nearly thrown from their seats. Declan glanced at the surrounding street with a puzzled look before turning to Foss.

"What is it? Why did you stop?"

Without averting his gaze, Foss pointed at something through the windshield. Concrete barricades separated them from the upcoming intersection and a few security guards and road workers loitered in the area.

"I don't get it. They're just doing roadwork. We'll take another route."

"They're Latnok henchmen, and sloppy henchmen at that."

"How do you know?"

"A real crew doing road work would have remembered to put up signs for a detour. Lucky for us, they haven't spotted us yet. We still have a chance to go back the way we came."

As Foss spoke, Kyle suddenly clenched his hands over his head as a strange feeling came over him. Adam noticed immediately.

"Kyle? What's wrong?"

Kyle turned to Adam to give an answer, but before he could say anything, he was interrupted by several loud screeching noises coming from behind. Kyle turned around and looked through the back window to see three black cars come to a stop one after the other. Together, they spanned the width of the street, completely blocking off traffic from their stretch of road.

Declan's eyes widened. "Crap."

Foss glared at the roadblock of cars through his rearview mirror. "We're trapped. There's nowhere for us to go."

Kyle had tuned out the comments made by Foss and Declan. His eyes were focused on the cars that blocked them. He studied them carefully, getting a sense of their mass, density and orientation.

_I knew a way to get everyone past the roadblock and keep Latnok occupied so that they wouldn't go after Adam, and even though doing so meant going against his wishes, I knew it must be done._

Kyle turned to Foss. "Listen very carefully. I'm going to get out and you're going to bring the car around. I can make a hole in their blockade, but you'll have to be ready to punch through."

Adam grabbed Kyle's wrist. "Kyle, no!" Adam looked at Kyle desperately, but Kyle would not turn from Foss.

Foss gave Kyle a slight nod. "I got it."

"Now!"

Kyle opened his door, breaking Adam's grip on his wrist and leaping out of the truck. As the door slammed shut behind Kyle, Foss revved the engine and kicked the car back into gear. By the time he had turned the truck around to face Latnok's blockade, Kyle had already taken off running in their direction.

_To move something as large as an automobile, Jessi had induced a magnetic field. I knew that I could do the same, and although I probably could have done it from Foss's car, I had to stay behind for now and make sure Adam wouldn't be followed._

Kyle sprinted towards the Latnok cars, keeping himself under the neighborhood's electrical lines and picking up charge from them as he passed below. Finally close enough for an effective push, Kyle focused and channeled the electric current through his arm just as the car doors in front of him began to open. In one swift motion, Kyle's arm shot forwards as he projected the magnetic blow, shoving the center car to side just enough to make an opening for another car.

Not a moment later, Foss's truck sped by Kyle, charging the blockade at sixty miles per hour. The pickup smashed its way through the opening, sending sparks flying on either side as it scraped against the previously pristine Latnok cars. Free of the trap, the truck took the next turn and disappeared behind the corner.

At this point, half a dozen Latnok henchmen had piled out of their cars, guns drawn. Eager to not let the remaining target escape, they aggressively approached and encircled Kyle.

"Hands over your head, kid."

The magnetic push was tiring, but Kyle was still just getting started. Focusing on the water content of the surrounding henchmen, Kyle slammed his hand into the ground, releasing a telekinetic shockwave in all directions. His attackers were thrown off their feet and onto their backs—Kyle was the only one left standing.

"Absolutely remarkable," came the voice of a woman.

Kyle looked up to see yet another car door open and Grace Kingsley step out. She eyed him proudly as she walked over with her cane.

"The last time I saw you, you were merely a child beginning to develop in a tank. Now look at the man you have become. You are everything I ever hoped you would be and more."

Kyle glared at her. "What do you want from me?"

Grace paused, looking at him as though she were hurt by his words. "Kyle, I'm your mother. All I want is for you to be a part of my life."


	15. Family Reunion

_The people I know often tell me that I always see the best in people. It was that quality that led me to pursue Jessi when she was being used as a weapon by MadaCorp, and that led me to save her when no one else wanted to. In the end I helped her to become a better person, someone I love and care about, because I never gave up on her. I had heard troubling things about Grace Kingsley, and now she stood before me. Were her motives as bad as I had been led to believe? And if they were, could I help her like I helped Jessi?_

Kyle stood in the middle of the blocked off street as Grace Kingsley walked towards him. A circle of henchman lying flat on the ground still surrounded him, some disoriented but groggily starting to stir, and some completely unconscious. Grace approached him slowly, carefully, as though she didn't want to incite him into running away.

"Kyle, please stay. I'd very much like it if you and I could talk."

_I wanted to stay and see if I could reason with her, but the situation was more complicated than usual. There was another factor I had to consider: Adam Baylin's safety. Grace Kingsley had been in that car this whole time. She had gotten too close to him. I had successfully stalled this Latnok patrol, and now I had to find Adam again—he needed my protection now more than ever._

Kyle suddenly bolted to the right, looking to escape into a nearby alleyway. He had only made it five yards when he was blocked by an unseen force. It was as though his chest had bumped into a wall, but there was nothing there. Kyle turned to see Grace focusing on him intently.

_She had learned to use telekinesis just as I had, and now she was making sure that I wouldn't leave._

Unfazed, Kyle turned back away from her and resumed running, only to be blocked again. Kyle shook it off again and glared at her. This time, as she prepared a telekinetic push, Kyle readied himself to counter with one of his own.

The two telekinetic attacks collided between them, the powerful forces balancing each other out. Kyle took a step towards her, focusing harder than before and hoping to win the duel. Grace, equally determined, would not back down and continued to push back. Then something caught Kyle's eye: a drop of blood rolling down from under her nose. His eyes widened and he dropped his arm, ceasing the attack.

"You're bleeding."

As she caught her breath, Grace pulled a handkerchief from her breast pocket and wiped up the blood. "So will you stay here with me then?"

"I know what you're doing. My first priority is keeping Adam safe from you."

"Then I recommend that you not go after him. The reason I found him so quickly is that you were with him. Your mind is powerful, Kyle, and I can sense it."

_I should have realized this before. Jessi and I always had the ability to find one another and it made sense that Grace could do the same for me._

"Why are telling me this? If you just had let me go, I would have led you right to him."

"Dearie, there will be many chances for me to deal with Adam. What I want now is a chance to meet my son."

Kyle reluctantly sighed, knowing there was no point in running away now. "I'm not your son."

"Yes Kyle, I know you already have a family. The Tragers have treated you wonderfully, but I'm your mother too and I was hoping you could find a place in your life for me as well."

_I didn't even need my abilities to tell me that she wasn't lying—the way she spoke just seemed so real and sincere. But still knowing of the hatred she carried for Adam, I couldn't help but continue to mistrust her._

"Why do you call me 'Kyle'?"

"Isn't that your name, dearie?"

"You know what I mean."

"You'd rather I call you '781227' like some cold, scientific woman? Or do you fancy 'XY'? Kyle, as interested as I am in your abilities, I want to know you as a person too."

"Even after what's happened between us?"

"I can forgive you for planning to kill me. You didn't know what you were doing. Your brother Cassidy has made some horrible decisions on behalf of Latnok and myself, and I wholeheartedly understand where you were coming from."

Kyle continued to glare at her, unsure of how to respond.

Grace smiled. "Please just come with me for now. There's still so much that needs to be said."

Kyle glanced around and reluctantly walked over to join her. A few of the henchmen had come to and were starting to stand up, but seeing that Kyle was cooperating with Grace, they stood back to let her do the talking. As Grace led Kyle to her car, the door opened up again and out stepped Nate, with his usual condescending grin.

"It looks like we just apprehended the boy wonder."

Grace scowled. "Nathaniel, please be nice."

Kyle's eyes widened. "Nate, what are you doing here?"

"I just thought I'd come along for the ride."

"You shouldn't be here. Trust me, you don't want to get involved in this."

Nate raised his eyebrows and held up his right hand, proudly showing off his new Latnok ring. "Too late. Looks like I already am."

Kyle's eyes were wide apart with dread. "Nate, listen to me. My friend is in danger. You can't be a part of what Latnok's doing."

For a moment Nate paused, captivated by Kyle's look of sheer concern. Then Nate shook it off and grinned again. "Oh really?"

"That's enough, you two," snapped Grace. "Nate, why don't you step over there for a minute and give us a chance to talk privately."

Nate paused with a confused look and then nodded. "Yes Ma'am."

* * *

Despite the turn of events elsewhere in the city, it was just an ordinary day at the Trager household. Josh, glad that he could still interact with Andy online, was engrossed in an intense match of G-Force. Lori, caught up in relationship drama as usual, was taking her aggression out on her guitar in the living room. Not bothered by the noise, Nicole and Stephen read their books in the next room.

Jessi walked into the living room, feeling somewhat uneasy at her surroundings. Given what she'd been through, ordinary days still weren't all that ordinary for her. It didn't help that right now Kyle was off protecting Adam and she couldn't be there with them. Kyle needed her to watch over the Tragers in case of danger, and she knew that he was right.

She walked over to Lori. "That sounds awful."

Lori looked up with an annoyed face. "Why thank you, sunshine. It's a work in progress."

"You're writing a new song?"

"Yes I am. This one's about Mark."

"What did he do?"

"Nothing. That is, if you don't count being a complete and utter hypocrite. He's giving me all this crap for not telling him Kyle's secret about being born in a pod, when he waited months before telling me that he was secretly helping Latnok make contact with Kyle."

"You're angry."

Lori raised her eyebrows. "What gave it away?" She turned back to her guitar. "Screw this. Mark and I are so done."

Feeling sympathetic, something she wasn't that used to feeling, Jessi put her hand on Lori's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Lori."

Lori managed to smile back. "It's not your fault. That is—unless you've mastered mind control and used it to turn Mark into a dirtbag."

"Why would I do that?"

Lori shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe to get back at me for saying all that stuff about you and Kyle together."

Although Jessi smiled at the comment, the mention of Kyle reminded her of the danger that he might be in. She didn't like keeping things from people any more than Kyle did, and due to recent events, Jessi had had enough with secrets. The Tragers deserved to know what was going on.

Jessi walked into the other room and faced Stephen and Nicole, who looked up from their books as she entered.

"I have something to tell you."

"What is it?" asked Nicole.

Lori followed Jessi into the room, with Josh close behind her. "What's going on?"

Stephen seemed annoyed. "Lori, Josh…"

"No, it's ok." Jessi turned around to look at Lori and Josh and then turned back to their parents. "They should hear it too. This is for everyone."

Nicole seemed concerned. "Jessi… what did you want to tell us?"

"I know that Kyle told you he was still going to Latnok to see Grace Kingsley. He didn't know it at the time, but he was in danger, and he still is."

Josh's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"Grace Kingsley woke up, and she's dangerous—powerful just like Kyle and I are. It turns out that Adam Baylin is still alive, but Grace Kingsley wants him dead. Kyle is out there trying to protect Adam, and he told me to come back here and watch you in case Latnok tried anything."

Nicole, on the verge of tears, covered her eyes and looked down at her lap. "No… this can't be happening again. I can't deal with this."

Seeing his wife distraught, Stephen stood up.

"Dad, what are you doing?" asked Lori.

"Our son is in danger. I'm calling the police."

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Jessi asked the question seriously, but not aggressively.

"I have to do something."

"Then ask yourself if the police can actually do anything to help. Kyle might be the only one who can take on Grace Kingsley." Jessi raised her eyebrows. "And if you involve the cops, someone might find out who Kyle really is. He may not be ready for that to happen."

Stephen shook his head and then sat down again. Jessi saw how worried the family was and wished there were a way to make them feel better.

"I know you're scared." Jessi tried to sound confident and reassuring, as Kyle always did when he talked to them. "But we can trust in Kyle to deal with this. He has never let us down before, and he won't let us down this time either."

* * *

As Jessi tried to reassure the Trager family, Kyle was still face to face with Grace Kingsley.

_Now was my chance to reach out to her. I could sense that there was good in her, and if I could get her to trust me, perhaps I could win her over and talk her into ending the search for Adam._

"That was very impressive what you did earlier—pushing my car out of the way and then knocking back my guards."

"So you're praising me for an act of violence?"

"An act of violence? Kyle, do you regret what you did back there?"

Kyle paused. "They were attacking me. I did what I had to."

"Then why do you say that as though you've done something wrong?"

"Because I shouldn't have had to do it. I wasn't looking for a fight, and I don't want to have to defend myself like that."

"Why are you always denying yourself your true capabilities?"

Kyle stepped back. "I'm not denying anything. I'll use my abilities to help people when they need it, but some things are more important to me than developing my powers. I have a life—with people I care about."

Grace nodded. "As do I. But Kyle, you were born with an incredible gift. A gift I would have done anything to possess myself. You can't ignore that."

"I know how much you wanted to have my abilities. Adam knew what you did to increase your brain activity. You damaged and abused yourself over the years with dangerous experiments. I can see it even as I look at you now. Your body is frail and your mind is poorly conditioned for such abilities. I don't know how much longer you can survive like this."

"Such is the price of progress." For the first time, Kyle detected the hint of hostility in her voice. "I suppose Adam told you other things about me, about how I'm a wretched woman who doesn't deserve her place at Latnok?"

"That's not true. Adam said that you were brilliant and he always cared about you. He hated to see you hurt yourself. But he knows you're after him and he's only trying to defend himself."

Grace shook her head. "Adam gave the first blow when he sent you to eliminate me. You I can forgive because you are my son, but he is beyond that."

"It doesn't have to be that way."

"Dearie, I'm afraid it does."

Grace signaled to one her henchmen, who then relayed her orders to the others. She turned back to Kyle.

"Get in the car."

"Where are we going?"

"Back to Latnok. There's something I want to show to you."

Nate, noticing that everyone was preparing to leave, ran back over to Kyle and Grace with a confused look.

"What's going on?"

"I'm just taking Kyle back to Latnok."

"Where am I going to sit?"

"You've done great today, Dearie, and you've earn yourself a rest. You can head back home for now."

"What? You can't just leave me here!"

"I'll have someone swing by to give you a ride home."

Nate shook his head. "That's not what I meant. I want to stay with you."

"You've done all you can for today, right now I have to keep some things between me and Kyle."

Kyle was still confused. "How do the two of you know each other?"

Grace glanced around to make sure none of the henchmen were in earshot before turning back to Kyle.

"Over the past several years, Nathaniel has helped me design and test devices for increasing brainpower. Together, we developed a procedure in which I would enter an altered state of consciousness—one that mimics a coma—that, when combined with a certain type of electrotherapy, would allow my brain to develop much like yours did in the pod."

"Grace!" Nate put his hands up in disbelief. "You can't tell him that!"

"Nathaniel, Kyle could help us with this, and we won't get anywhere by keeping secrets from him."

Nate shook his head. "This was between us. We didn't tell anyone, not even Cassidy!"

"Cassidy wouldn't understand." Grace eyed Nate sternly. "Now I would ask that you take your leave before you say something you'll regret."

Nate glared at her angrily. "Fine. I'll go. Have fun with Kyle."

With that, Nate turned around and walked away. Grace turned back to Kyle.

"He has a bit of a temper sometimes, as you've probably noticed. He'll be fine tomorrow. Come along now, we have much to do."


	16. A Shot in the Dark

_The more time I spent with Grace Kingsley, the more I began to notice the similarities between us. I found this simultaneously hopeful and disturbing. It brought me hope because the more she had in common with me, the more likely it was that she would relate to me and see reason if I were to talk her into calling off the hunt for Adam. And it disturbed me because I knew what Grace Kingsley had done to Latnok and what she was willing to do to Adam, and that made me wonder again if I also was capable of something so sinister. I thought back to the night I almost became a murderer. I had managed to stop myself before, but now I wondered if violence was simply part of my nature._

As he sat in the car next to her, Kyle watched Grace Kingsley closely, noting every subtle movement she made. He watched the way she gazed out the window at the passing streets, the way she ran her hand across the back of the seat in front of her, and the way she smiled when she was deep in thought.

Although Grace realized she was being examined, she acted as though it didn't bother her. "Don't worry dearie, we'll be at Latnok in just a minute."

_I saw the way she looked at her surroundings and truly appreciated the world around her. I knew how much she thought about the people in her life and how much she wanted to be with them. I realized how determined she was to complete her mission at any cost. Not all of these things were also true of Adam, but they all reminded me of myself._

The car came to a stop and Grace opened her door and stepped out.

"Kyle! We're here."

Kyle, who had been lost in thought, looked at her and then opened his door as well. He followed Grace to the entrance of the Latnok headquarters, where Cassidy awaited them.

"Mum, glad to see you back here so soon. And with my brother no less."

Kyle gave him a cold stare. "Cassidy."

Cassidy took a step towards them. "Word is you were working with Adam Baylin without our knowledge. Conspiring against Latnok."

Grace stepped in front of Kyle. "Cassidy, please don't."

Cassidy calmly turned to her. "Mum, let me finish."

Grace paused and then nodded hesitantly. "Alright."

Cassidy turned back to Kyle. "I don't blame you for what you did."

Kyle's eyes narrowed. "You don't?"

"Latnok always made it clear that they wanted you to be a part of things, but I went about everything the wrong way when it fell on me to recruit you. I have a bit of a confession to make. I threatened and misled you because part of me didn't want you around."

"Why?"

"Don't bother with the why. My motivations were my own and I'll deal with them on my own. What matters now is that I'm sorry for what I did. And I want you know that I am interested in having you be part of Latnok… and part of my family."

_It was now second nature for me to examine Cassidy's words for deception, but I could tell that he was telling the truth._

"What changed your mind?"

Cassidy turned to Grace. "I had a little chat with our mother. She has a way of making one see the error in his ways."

Grace smiled back at him. "Dearie, you always make me proud."

Cassidy nodded. "Well, I know you have things to show Kyle, so I won't keep either of you. Go right ahead."

Kyle and Grace walked past Cassidy into the building, and Cassidy closed the door behind them.

_At this point I knew for sure that everyone at Latnok, including Grace and Cassidy, meant me no harm and wanted my participation. But the same could not be said for their relation with Adam Baylin. If I could not stop Grace from wanting to kill Adam, I would need to find an opportunity to escape so I could protect him some other way, even if I couldn't be with him without Grace tracking us down. And escape would be tricky given her ability to block me with her mind._

* * *

Amanda had just finished a shift at the rack and she now walked through the park on her way back home. It hadn't been a very long shift, but it had sure felt like one. As much as she was used to having smoothies explode in her face, she still didn't enjoy it. Amanda ran her hand through her blond hair to feel a wet, sticky glob of blended peach and mango still stuck to her. A shower would be nice.

Too bad Kyle hadn't been there to fix the smoothie machine for her. He had said that they would still be friends, but she should have known how that would go. Amanda had always thought that knowing Kyle's secrets would bring them closer, but ever since he had told her everything, it was as though he had vanished off the face of the earth. He was probably off saving the world or something—with Jessi no doubt. Amanda cringed just thinking about her. Looking back, Amanda couldn't believe how easily she had rolled over and accepted the fact that Kyle had chosen Jessi. She couldn't deny the connection that Kyle and Jessi had, but Amanda thought that she had something with Kyle too—and she missed him.

Perhaps what angered Amanda most was the fact that she let Jessi win. Kyle had always trusted Jessi to help him with everything, and this was natural considering she shared Kyle's abilities, but he didn't even notice how Amanda had just proven that she could be tough as well. She had stood up to Jessi and even knocked out Nate. Maybe she didn't have superpowers, but she had thought that would have earned her a little more respect.

Amanda looked up at the sky to see dark clouds starting to roll in. It had been sunny that morning. Hopefully it wouldn't start raining before she could make it home. Amanda picked up the pace as her cell phone started to ring.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Amanda?"

"Nate? Why are you calling me?"

"I just wanted to ask you something."

"Nate, you attacked me in your room. You can't just call me up like nothing ever happened."

"Yes, I know…"

"Listen, I know I made that latte for you the other day, but that doesn't mean we're friends again, or even that I forgive you."

"Amanda, will you just shut up and listen to me?"

Amanda angrily sighed. "Ok fine, what is it?"

"I'm trying to reach Kyle."

"Kyle? So why'd you call me?"

"I don't have his number. I figured you would."

"Why do you want to talk to Kyle so badly?"

"Because, I think he might seriously be in danger."

Amanda paused. "What?"

"Maybe I'm completely wrong and right now he's actually at home hanging out, but I just need to check to make sure."

"Nate," Amanda said slowly. "What's going on?"

Nate sighed. "Alright, I'll give you the quick version. Grace Kingsley—Kyle's mother—she woke up from her coma. I was with her at Latnok and then we went to find Kyle. When we did, she took him with her back to Latnok and then told me to go home."

"Oh, I get it. She wanted to see Kyle and then you got jealous again. Then for some reason, you came crying to me about it."

"Amanda, I'm not joking around here. I think he's in trouble."

"Why do you care? You hate Kyle."

"I don't know, he just… he gave me this look. Like he knew something horrible was going to happen. I don't know how to explain it."

"A look?"

"Amanda, just trust me on this."

Amanda scowled. "Sorry Nate, but I've learned over the years not to trust people so easily."

"Yeah, I've noticed. And it's kind of made you a bitch."

"What did you just call me?"

"You heard me. Everyone always talks about how sweet and innocent you were, but now, you're just a bitch!"

With that, Nate heard the beep of Amanda hanging up. He rolled his eyes in frustration.

"Great."

* * *

Back at the Trager house, Jessi was standing guard near the front door. She stood stoic and expressionless, like soldier at attention. There didn't seem to be any signs of danger and she didn't think there would be, but she reasoned that appearing more vigilant would make the Tragers feel safer. But Jessi didn't realize that something different was bothering Nicole.

Stephen walked up to his wife, who was sitting alone on the couch. "Hey." He put his hand on her cheek and waited until she looked up at him. "How are you holding up?"

Nicole looked around to make sure Lori and Josh weren't watching, and then turned back to Stephen. "I'm not."

Stephen sat down next to her, trying to comfort her. "Nicole…"

"Kyle's out there, and I don't know if he's safe or not. And there's nothing I can do about it."

"We've seen what Kyle can do. Right now, all we can do is trust that he can handle the situation."

"And look at Jessi over there, guarding the house like it's her job to protect us. We're their parents. It should be our job to protect them."

Stephen paused, trying to think of the right words to say. "There comes a point in every parent's life when the children grow up. They have to go out into the world and you can't always be there to watch over them."

"That doesn't make it any easier."

"And Nicole, you know that what I'm saying applies even more for Kyle and Jessi. Not every parent has to deal with kids with superhuman abilities. They were always meant for extraordinary things, and many of those things we can never help them with."

Nicole nodded. "I know." She took Stephen's hand in hers. "But it just seems like the other day when Kyle came into our lives without any knowledge of the world or who he was. He needed our help with everything. And now… it's just that he and Jessi have had to grow up so quickly."

There was nothing more Stephen could think to say. All he could give to Nicole his reassuring smile and his hand to hold.

* * *

Grace Kingsley led Kyle down a long hallway near the top floors of the Latnok headquarters.

"I didn't expect Cassidy to apologize to me."

"I imagine that one could get jealous having a little brother like you."

Kyle's eyes narrowed. "Earlier Cassidy told me that he wasn't jealous of me."

"Yes well, he can be quite good at lying, and that includes lying to himself."

"Denial?"

"Could be. I'm partly to blame though. I could have paid more attention to him with he was younger."

"Why didn't you?"

Grace turned to Kyle as they reached a doorway. "Because I've made mistakes too."

As Grace pushed in the code to open the door, Kyle stepped closer to her. "Grace, I think you're about to make another one."

Grace gave Kyle an odd look. "Another what?"

"Another mistake. You shouldn't hunt down Adam. You know that his plans against you were only in self-defense. You should just leave him alone, and once he knows you won't hurt him, he'll leave you alone too."

Grace smiled and shook her head. "You think Adam will so easily forget about Latnok? Not a chance. He won't stop until he's resumed his role here."

"Why is that so bad? What is so wrong about having Adam at Latnok?"

"Adam's simpleminded approach to science would have over half our current experiments shut down. I've spent my whole life trying to convince Latnok not to be held back so easily by petty concerns."

"Petty concerns? You mean like filling a warehouse with clones to act as bio-computers? You mean like destroying your own brain with electrotherapy?"

"Yes I do!" snapped Grace. "And I won't tolerate any attempts to stop me. Adam could never understand."

"Why not? What couldn't he understand?"

Grace sighed. "You know very well about Adam's gifts. Everything came so naturally to him. That's just how he was born. And he thought Latnok could be run the same way: no risks, no broken rules, the scientific results would just come naturally. He never had to work for anything in his life."

"You know that's not true."

"Yes it is. Adam never had to work anywhere near as hard as I did to get where I am today. He'll never understand what it was like to go through what I did."

Kyle put his hand on her shoulder, trying to be sympathetic. "That's because no one should ever have to go through what you did. No one should ever have to abuse oneself to get results."

"Yes you do, Kyle," Grace said slowly. "Yes you do. I know that better than anyone. And I was hoping that you would understand too, but it seems you understand it no better than Adam."

With that, Grace opened the door and walked into the next room.

_Although Grace loved and cared for many people in her life, her hatred for Adam was even stronger. I had hoped that I would be able to reason with her, but now I realized how futile that was. I would not be able to change her mind, definitely not before she would find a way to get to Adam._

"Kyle? Are you coming?"

Kyle walked into the room to find it dark and mostly empty albeit something the size of a washing machine covered by a sheet.

_There was nothing more I could do to protect Adam by talking to her. As much as I wanted to help her, I had to find a way to escape. I could run down the hallway we came from and out a window onto the ground below. It would only take me a matter of seconds, but I couldn't do it if Grace blocked me. She had kept a close watch on me from the minute we met. I would need a distraction first._

"Kyle, I'd like you to do something for me."

"What is it?"

"I'd like you to connect your mind to mine. You know that together, we can be more powerful than we are as individuals. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts."

"Why do you want to do that?"

"There's no use lying to you. I want to find Adam Baylin. His mind is more powerful than most, so it's not impossible. Alone, I could sense your location in the city. Together, we should be able to sense a lesser mind as well."

Kyle glared. "If you can read me so easily, you should know that I'd never betray him."

"I know. And I also know you're looking for a chance to escape, but that's beside the point. I was hoping you'd be willing to see reason by now."

Kyle shook his head. "I won't do that."

Grace nodded. "I thought you'd say that. Fortunately, I have a backup plan."

She removed the sheet to reveal a strange electrical device. Layers upon layers of wires surrounded a metal frame. Grace pushed a button and it began to hum with power.

"What is that?"

"Just one of the many devices I've invented over the years. This one isn't for permanent brain enhancement, but it can temporarily boost my mental energy. Much like you could have, had you agreed to connect your mind to mine."

"Grace, don't do this."

"I have to, Kyle."

Grace began to stare at the machine and focus her mind. The humming and buzzing of the contraption became louder as its circuitry began to interact with her mental energy.

_She was trying to locate Adam and I had to stop her. I didn't want to hurt Grace, but perhaps I could destroy the machine. It was electrical, so I could overload its circuits._

Grace continued to interface with the device, focusing even harder than before. Her nose began to bleed as she pushed and strained herself. Kyle also focused on the machine, but with a different objective in mind.

_The circuitry seemed more complicated than I expected, but I wasn't about to give up._

"What's going on in here?"

Cassidy had stepped into the room to find his mother and Kyle focusing on the strange device. His eyes widened when he saw his mother's face.

"Mum, you're bleeding!"

Grace still didn't look at him. "Cassidy, please. I need you to leave."

Cassidy grabbed her shoulder, but Grace wouldn't budge. "Mum, you're hurting yourself. You need to stop!"

_This was it. I saw how to overload the circuits._

There was a thunderous explosion as the device blew itself into a thousand pieces. Flames and sparks flew everywhere, and Kyle, Grace, and Cassidy were thrown back into the wall behind them.

_I did not expect such a large explosion from destroying the device. Nor did I expect a large piece of shrapnel from the machine to fly at my head. Fortunately, more out of instinct than anything else, I managed to telekinetically push it to the side with the mere fraction of a second that I had._

Kyle caught his breath as he stared at the jagged piece of metal, which now stuck out of the wall inches from his face.

"Kyle?" Grace looked at him. "Are you all right?"

Kyle slowly nodded and then stood up. Grace turned to Cassidy.

"Cassidy? How about you?"

Cassidy, who now sat against the wall, didn't respond.

"Cassidy?"

Looking over at Cassidy, Kyle saw that the man's previously white shirt was now stained red with blood. A massive piece of shrapnel from the explosion stuck out of his chest. He didn't blink, and looking even closer, Kyle realized that he had no pulse.

"Cassidy? Oh my God, Cassidy!"

_It was as though time slowed down. For some reason, my mind began to race. Was it because of Cassidy? Despite everything that man had put me through, I saw him die trying to protect his mother, whom he loved, and he had already lost too much blood to be revived. For the first time, I truly wondered whether or not he could ever have been a brother to me._

_ Then I realized why my mind was racing: Grace was finally distracted. All of her attention was on Cassidy. I hated using something like this as a chance to escape from her, but it may be the only chance I would get._

With that, Kyle bolted out the open door and didn't look back. Another man in a suit walked down the hallway, but as narrow as it was, Kyle served to the side and easily dodged him. Latnok didn't have many windows, but as Kyle rounded the corner, he spotted one at the other side of the hall.

With a final leap, Kyle smashed through the window and fell several stories to the ground below. Landing completely unharmed, Kyle turned around and listened.

_I heard nothing, which meant no one was following me. I was free._


	17. SOS

Amanda sat at her stool practicing her latest piano piece. She liked this new song—it was nice to play something different for a change—but she was still learning it. She hit a wrong note, destroying the song's melody. Amanda sighed, preparing to start over from the beginning.

It was at that moment that the doorbell rang. She might as well be the one to get it, considering she was at a good stopping point.

"I'll get it!" Amanda shouted to her mother as she walked over to the front door.

Amanda opened the door to see a young man wearing a suit and tie. With his sharp clothes and new haircut, she almost didn't recognize him.

"Nate?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Why did you come here?"

"Why do you think? For the same reason that I called you."

"You don't remember me hanging up on you?"

Nate mockingly scratched his head. "Uh, yeah. That's why I came here. This way, you can't hang up on me again."

Amanda smirked. "You're right. But I can still do this."

She tried to slam the door in Nate's face, but he shoved his foot into the doorway to block it.

"Amanda, please. I wouldn't have driven all the way over here if this weren't important."

Amanda finally sighed and held the door open again, but still blocked his way in case he had any ideas about coming into her house.

Nate gave her an annoyed look. "What's wrong with you? I thought you'd be worried when I told you Kyle might be in danger."

"I'm always concerned about Kyle." She gave him an angry look. "It's you and your sudden concern for him I don't trust."

"Hey, just because I don't like him doesn't mean I want him to wind up dead in the morning."

"Dead?"

"Well…. Maybe. I know he has superpowers and such, but if he gets into a fight with Grace Kingsley, well, I've seen what she can do."

"What do you mean? Is she like Kyle too?"

"Not exactly. But she can do a lot of the same things he can. She started out normal like you and me, but over the years she's been working to expand her brainpower."

"How? Is that even possible?"

Nate gave her an annoyed look. "I really don't feel like explaining this to you. I came here to see if I could find a way to get in touch with Kyle so I can make sure he's ok. Now are you going to give me his phone number or not?"

Amanda rolled her eyes and then finally stepped out of her house, turned, and pointed at the Trager house.

"He lives next door. Go check on him yourself."

"This whole time his house was right there? You couldn't have just told me that earlier?"

"You can't blame me."

Nate rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Thanks."

He stepped back down onto the sidewalk, but then turned to see Amanda following him.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going with you. Just to make sure you're actually doing what you said you'd do."

Nate shrugged. "Fine. Then you'll see that I was telling the truth."

"We'll see."

Nate rolled his eyes yet again, wondering why he ever chose to date such a headache in the first place. Oh right, it was because of Kyle. He appreciated the irony.

As Nate passed the fence separating the Trager yard from the Bloom yard, a hand suddenly shot out of nowhere and held him forcefully by the throat. As he gasped for air and tried to break free, his eyes met the angry eyes of Jessi.

"I've been watching all day. I didn't think they'd send you, though."

Seeing the struggle, Amanda ran up to her. "Jessi? What are you doing?"

Jessi turned to her. "He's with Latnok. Look at the ring on his finger."

"Jessi, stop! He just came over because he's worried about Kyle!"

"She's… right…" Nate choked out the words.

Jessi gave Nate a blank look and then shrugged. "Well, you're not lying."

With that, she finally let go and Nate put his hands on his throat and coughed as he broke free. While Nate caught his breath, Amanda put her hand on his shoulder to make sure he was all right, and then she turned back to Jessi.

"You've just been sitting there all day waiting to attack him?"

"Kyle told me to."

Amanda tilted her head. "I'm guessing you're paraphrasing his words?"

"Only a little." Jessi turned back to Nate. "So what do you want?"

Nate finally stood completely upright again as he faced her. "I just wanted to see if Kyle is around."

"He's not home."

"Great. Then he might be in trouble. The last I saw him, he was getting in a car with Grace Kingsley."

Jessi tilted her head. "She found him?"

"Yes. I was with her just now and she wanted to take Kyle back to the headquarters. You're right, I'm with Latnok, but that doesn't mean I'm not worried. I don't know what she has planned for him. If I knew where he was, I'd go check on him."

Jessi raised her eyebrows. "I can sense Kyle. I always know where he is."

"Well, good then!" Nate exclaimed. "You should go help him. I have my car—I can drive you."

Amanda stepped forward. "I'd like to come too."

Jessi shook her head. "No. I need to protect the Tragers. I'm not leaving."

Amanda glared at her. "Kyle might be in trouble. Don't you want to help him?"

Jessi gave her an intense stare. "Of course I do. But I promised Kyle that I would stay here. I'm not going to break my promise, so I'm just going to have to trust that he can do this on his own."

* * *

Across the city, Kyle had just broken free of the Latnok headquarters. Having sprinted far enough to have a safe distance between him and his adversaries, Kyle finally took out his cell phone. The battery was almost dead, but he could probably still make a few calls.

After dialing a number, Declan answered. "Hello?"

"Declan, it's Kyle. Is everyone all right?"

"Kyle! Glad to hear from you. Yeah, we'll all fine, for now at least. What happened to you?"

"I met with Grace Kingsley. I was hoping that I'd be able to reason with her, but I couldn't. I escaped from Latnok and now I'm on foot."

"Well, you'd better come find us as fast as you can."

"That's not a good idea. Grace can sense my location just like Jessi can. I'd be leading Latnok right to you."

"Wouldn't matter at this point. They already know where we are."

"What?"

"They've had guys tailing us and they've already blocked off all the streets around us. Still pretending to just be roadwork. We're pinned down under the Space Needle, but Foss is keeping them at bay the best he can. We could seriously use your help."

"I'll be right there…"

Kyle's phone beeped as in ran out of power. He sighed as he put it back in his pocket. There was no time to waste. He had to meet up with them.

Kyle bolted through the city streets, his eye on the Space Needle off in the distance. If he stayed at his current pace, he could make it there in a few minutes. He hoped that wouldn't be too late.

_As I ran, I thought about my last encounter with Grace Kingsley and how unrelenting she was in pursuit of her goal. She would stop at nothing to get what she wanted, even if that meant the death of her own son, Cassidy. I realized this meant that she wouldn't let my death get in the way either, and for the first time, I was faced with someone who actually was powerful enough to kill me. Somehow I knew that I was heading for the final showdown with Latnok, and if she was there, this showdown could be my last._

_ Before this moment, I had never thought much about the concept of death, and what it would be like to face it. But still, the more I thought about me dying, the less I was concerned for myself. I was more concerned with how my death would affect those I love. The Tragers, who had brought me in, who had given me everything, would have to come to terms with the fact that I was gone._

_ But mostly I thought about Jessi. I had risked everything to be there for her when she had nothing and I gave her a reason to be a better person. She had come so far to become someone I care for and admire, and I couldn't help but wonder if my death would make her lose faith in everything again. I needed so badly to know that even if I was gone, she could still continue to be everything she was now._

As Kyle continued to sprint, he began to focus his mental energy as well.

_My phone was dead, but there might still be another way for me to get through to her. When I was stranded on the side of the road with Josh and Nicole, I had managed to send her a message in bits and pieces. Perhaps if I focused, I could communicate on a much more coherent level. I focused more and attempted to send out my thoughts to her._

_ Jessi?_

_ No response._

_ Jessi, are you there?_

* * *

Back at the Trager house, Jessi continued to keep watch on the front lawn. Nate was still there in hopes that Jessi might still change her mind and Amanda waited with him, hanging out and talking with him by his car.

Jessi tilted her head as a strange feeling came over her. She wasn't sure whether or not she had felt it before, but it somehow reminded her of Kyle.

_Jessi?_

Jessi's eyes widened. "Kyle? Is that you?"

_Yes, it's me. Thank goodness I was able to reach you._

"Where are you? What's going on?"

_I don't have much time to explain. I'm going to help Adam, but I just needed to tell you something._

"What is it?"

_Grace Kingsley is dangerous. I don't know if I'm going to make it back alive, and if I don't…_

"Kyle, no." Tears formed in Jessi's eyes. "Don't even say that."

_Jessi, please. I need you to listen. Since I met you, you've changed so much and become such a great person. We've always been there for each other. If I don't come back, I need you to promise me that you'll never forget who you are. I need you promise me that you'll always be that great person I know you can be._

"Kyle…"

_Do you promise?_

Jessi finally nodded. "I promise."

_I love you, Jessi. I always will. Don't ever forget that._

And with that, Kyle's voice in her head was gone. For minute, Jessi just turned her head to the house and stood there in the yard, trying to fight back tears. Although she had promised, she didn't know how she would ever be able to let Kyle go.

Finally, she stood up straight, wiped her eyes, and walked back into the Trager house. She quickly scribbled something down on a piece of paper and then walked over to Nicole and Stephen, the latter of whom stood up to greet her.

"Hi Jessi."

"Listen very carefully." Jessi handed him the piece of paper. "Kyle is heading towards this address. You're going to take the entire family to the police station and you're going to direct the police to this location. Don't go anywhere without an officer watching you."

"The police? Are you sure?"

Jessi was already out the door before Stephen could even finish asking the question. She walked over to Amanda and Nate who were still by his car on the side of the road.

"Are you still offering your car?"

Nate nodded and took out his keys. "Does this mean you changed your mind?"

Jessi snatched the keys from him. "Get in. We're going after Kyle. And I'm driving."


	18. Eye of the Needle, Part I

**I didn't mean to take longer than usual to update. I have been busier, but I promise I will finish this story.**

* * *

Adam, Foss, and Declan were pinned down behind the red pickup in the parking lot of the Space Needle. The Latnok henchmen had blocked off the surrounding streets, staying disguised as workers and security personnel to evade suspicion. Still, they were cautious not to venture too far out of cover, lest they fall victim to Foss's prowling aim.

As he stealthily approached from the other side of the blockade, Kyle noticed that the Latnok guards were still alert.

_This was a good sign. It meant that Adam and his protectors were still putting up a fight. Fortunately, my getting past the guards was easy. I had taught Jessi how to be invisible—naturally I knew how to do it myself._

Unseen and completely undetectable, Kyle crept past the henchmen and over the roadblock. He jogged over to the red truck, remaining invisible until he was safely behind it with the rest of his companions.

"Kyle!" Declan jumped at his sudden appearance. "There you are."

"Is everyone all right?" asked Kyle. His attention was focused mainly on Adam, but the older man still seemed too shaken to respond.

Foss turned to Kyle while keeping one eye on his targets. "It's a good thing you got here when you did. They have the block surrounded and there's nowhere to run. There are too many of them for me to keep them all from advancing. We're running out of time."

Declan turned back to Foss. "Well, we can't just stand here and do nothing!"

A bullet whizzed towards them and ricocheted off the hood of the red truck, narrowly missing everyone. Kyle, Declan, Foss, and Adam ducked lower behind the truck as the projectile sped by them. Kyle, who now had his back to the car, had closed his eyes, but as he opened them, he found himself staring up at the towering Space Needle in front of him. His eyes narrowed as he studied the futuristic structure.

"The Space Needle."

Declan turned to Kyle and then looked up where he was looking. "Yeah, what about it?"

Kyle turned back to face everyone. "We could head to the top of the Space Needle. They wouldn't be able to follow us."

"I don't like it." Foss shook his head. "Even if they couldn't follow us up there, we'd still have nowhere to go. We'd just be backing ourselves into another corner."

Kyle quickly glanced around to see if any of the Latnok henchmen were approaching. "It's better than just staying here and waiting for them to find us."

"But won't there be lot's of other people up there?" asked Declan. "You know, tourists and such visiting Seattle?"

"Not at the moment," replied Foss. "The Space Needle has recently been closed to visitors due to a series of unexplained energy surges and blackouts throughout the city. They don't want to take any chances."

Declan raised his eyebrows at Kyle. "How about that? It turns out your sex life may have just saved us."

Foss squinted. "What?"

Declan turned back to Foss. "Not worth explaining."

Kyle turned back to look up at the tower. "I could hack into the system and reactivate the elevators to let us get to the top. Once we're there, I can sabotage the machinery to make sure that no one else can follow us."

"And then what?" asked Foss.

"I don't know yet. But we'll have time to think of something."

"Like what?"

"Do it." Everyone turned to Adam Baylin who nodded towards Kyle. "We'll go ahead with your plan."

Foss sighed and then nodded. "Well then we'd better get moving."

* * *

Nate's car sped through the streets of Seattle at over 100 miles per hour with Jessi at the wheel. They bolted over sidewalks and across intersections; any normal person driving like this would have caused a dozen accidents at this point, but Jessi had every twist, turn, brake and acceleration perfectly calculated so that they wouldn't hit anyone or anything. Amanda rode in the passenger seat and Nate in the back, and both clung to their seats for dear life as they watched the road ahead with wide eyes.

"Jessi!" shouted Amanda. "You just missed that white car by an inch!"

"2.63 inches to be exact. As long as I didn't hit it, why do you care?"

"Because you could have hit it!"

Jessi shook her head. "That's not possible. I knew exactly where that car would be."

"Uh… girls?" Nate looked through the back window. "I don't mean to freak you out, but it looks like there's a cop car after us."

Jessi turned her head around and saw the flashing blue and red lights through the back window. The police car was cruising after them, intent on catching the speeder. However, as Jessi focused, a shower of sparks flew from under the police car's hood, followed by black smoke as it slowed to a stop.

Amanda turned to Jessi in horror. "What did you do?"

Jessi turned to Amanda, still going the same incredible speed, but not looking at the road. "I caused a failure in the car's electrical system. It can't follow us now."

"Are you crazy? That was a cop car!"

"Relax, they were too far away for a clear view of our license plate."

"That's not the point! You could have killed someone!"

Jessi gave her a weird look. "Not at their current speed and bearing."

"Jessi! Look at the road!"

Amanda covered her eyes as Jessi ran yet another red light, blitzing straight through traffic and narrowly missing an 18-wheeler. When Amanda uncovered her eyes, Jessi was still staring at her.

"Amanda, I don't need to look anywhere in particular to get all the variables I need to ensure safety. For instance, my other senses…"

"You're still not looking at the road!"

Jessi rolled her eyes and finally stared straight ahead as Amanda had requested. "Ok, fine. I'm looking at the road. Are you happy?"

"Thank you," Amanda exasperatedly muttered. "Sorry I'm such a backseat driver."

"You're in the front seat."

Amanda sighed and turned back to Nate. "Do you want to explain this one to her?"

Nate shook his head. "I'm staying out of this."

* * *

A small ding was heard as the elevator made it to the top floor of the Space Needle. Foss looked back and forth uneasily, remembering how his last elevator trip with Kyle and Declan turned out. The doors slid open and Foss was the first one out. He held his handgun at eye level and quickly checked both sides before motioning to the other three that it was safe to come out.

Kyle raised his eyebrows. "There's no one else up here." When Foss returned a blank look, Kyle continued. "I can't hear any other heartbeats up here. We're alone."

Foss nodded. "Of course." He put his pistol back into his coat. "Old habits."

Declan grinned as he walked out and admired the majestic view of Seattle. "There's no way in hell Latnok can get to us now."

"Yeah," muttered Foss. "Just so long as they don't have time to follow us up the elevator. Kyle, how are you planning to sabotage that thing anyway? Because we're going to run out of…"

Foss was interrupted by the crackle of electricity and a shower of sparks from the elevator. Kyle's gaze had been fixated on the lift's circuitry, but he now turned back to face Foss.

The older man shrugged. "I guess that answers my question."

Declan chuckled. "Look at you. A few weeks ago you were getting all flustered over breaking and entering. Now you don't have a problem blowing stuff up."

"I can't let Latnok get to Adam."

Kyle began walking away from the group, but he was stopped by Adam, who put his hand on Kyle's shoulder.

"Kyle, where are you going?"

Kyle turned to him. "This isn't the only elevator on the tower. Don't go anywhere until I get back."

Kyle waited until Adam nodded in acknowledgment before turning and leaving.

* * *

The Seattle sky was now completely overcast, and if one listened carefully, one could make out the distant rumbling of thunder. An approaching rainstorm was nothing new to the city, but not all was going smoothly on the streets below the skyscrapers. Thousands of cars had stopped dead in their tracks in what must have been the worst traffic jam the city had seen in years. Unbeknownst to the horde of angry commuters, several paths down the road had been unexpectedly blocked off without any indication of a detour.

Jessi, who until now had been driving Nate's car at a breakneck pace, gradually began to slow down. Even though she had not yet reached the bulk of the congestion, her driving steadily became more cautious. Nate quickly picked up on this.

"What's wrong?"

"Traffic." Jessi's eyes made small back and forth motions as her mind raced.

"Latnok set up a few blockades in the city, but it shouldn't be a big deal for you. You've been able to dodge everything so far."

Jessi turned to Nate. "There's physically no room for me to dodge what's ahead."

"Jessi!" yelled Amanda.

Jessi turned back to look at the oncoming street. "I know. Eyes on the road."

"Just find another route," suggested Nate.

Jessi's eyes widened in annoyance. "There is no outer route." She paused for a moment. "Unless…"

"Unless what?"

The car suddenly served so violently that Nate and Amanda would have been thrown from their seats into it weren't for their safety belts. After shaking it off, Nate leaned forward to see that Jessi had taken an exit and was on a residential street alongside Lake Union.

"Jessi, what are you doing? This is a dead end."

"I suggest you hold on."

Before either or them could ask Jessi what she meant, Jessi took the car on yet another violent swerve—this time off the road altogether. Nate and Amanda looked out the window in horror as the airborne vehicle soared towards the murky surface of the Lake below. They only had a moment to duck and cover their heads before the imminent impact.

That moment passed, and the next one after that, and strangely, the impact never seemed to come. Slowly, Amanda peered up from under the dashboard, and she was shocked at what she saw. The car had indeed hit the surface of the water, but instead of sinking into the abyss, it now glided across the surface as though it were still driving on pavement.

Jessi had one foot pressed against the gas petal and both hands propped firmly against the roof of the car. She had reversed her own polarity to such an extent that she could keep the entire car elevated. Jessi struggled to keep the massive vehicle balanced and continued to push, refusing to let them sink.

Nate and Amanda were still too shocked to say anything. They both just watched in wonder as the car skidded along like a water strider, making its own detour to the Space Needle.

* * *

Kyle tilted his head and narrowed his eyes curiously. He had reached the other elevator, only to find its door was wide open. There wasn't anyone there, but it still struck him as odd. Had it been undergoing maintenance?

_I listened carefully to my surroundings. No heartbeats, other than my own and that of Adam, Foss, and Declan._

He finally shrugged and left, but not after frying the circuitry and leaving a mess of sparks in his wake. Kyle picked up the pace as he walked back to find Adam, Foss, and Declan outside by the railing on the other side of the structure. Declan noticed the uneasy look on his face.

"Kyle? Is something wrong?"

"I deactivated an elevator, but it was open before I got there."

"Open?" asked Foss. "You mean they could have followed us up."

Kyle shook his head. "Not possible. There are only four heartbeats up here." He suddenly turned around, as though a strange feeling had come over him. "Wait…"

"I'm disappointed in you, Kyle." Grace Kingsley stepped out from around the corner with a cold stare. "You of all people should know how one slows down one's heart rate."

"Get down!" Without wasting any time, Foss whipped out his handgun.

Kyle had half a second to duck out of the way before Foss unloaded his gun at Grace Kingsley. Even though the veteran fired with near-perfect precision, strangely, none of the bullets seemed to hit her. Grace calmly began to walk up to Foss, focusing on his gun as he continued to fire.

Declan had already scurried to cover and Kyle knew he had to take this chance to save Adam. He grabbed his mentor by the hand and swiftly pulled him along towards the other side of the building.

"Adam, we have to hurry."

"What about Foss?"

"He can handle himself."

As Adam disappeared to temporary safety around the corner of the building, Grace now stood face to face with Foss. He pulled the trigger yet again, only to hear the damning click of an empty clip. A single bead of sweat rolled down his faced as his determined glare met the icy stare of Grace Kingsley.

With one quick motion, she grabbed the handgun from him, leaving him unarmed.

"Tom Foss." She paused. "You have no idea who you're dealing with, do you?"

With that, Foss was launched into the air by Grace's telekinetic throw.


	19. Eye of the Needle, Part II

The Seattle sky hard grown dark, as it was evening and a storm was quickly approaching. Still, if one looked closely at the Space Needle, one might notice something peculiar. There seemed to be a man dangling from the top of the structure, a man not supported by a harness or any other safety measure.

Tom Foss grunted as he held onto the side of the railing. Taking a glance down at his feet, he saw that nothing stood between him and the sheer drop to the ground below. The man tried to hoist himself up to safety, but he stopped as he felt a sharp pain in his arm. The blow from Grace Kingsley had left him injured and unable to life himself.

"Foss!"

He looked up to see Declan, who had come out of his hiding spot. Grace Kingsley was nowhere to be seen, but Foss knew she couldn't be far.

"What are you doing?" Foss painfully muttered. "Grace Kingsley is here and she's dangerous. You should get back inside."

"What, and leave you? Not a chance."

Declan reached over the railing, reaching down and offering his hand to Foss. "Here, take my hand."

"You're not Kyle. You won't be able to pull me up."

Although doubtful that he could lift the larger man, Declan refused to show it. "Kyle's not here. You're stuck with my help. Now give me your hand."

"Save yourself, kid."

Declan didn't have time to put up with any more arguing. He forcefully grabbed Foss by the wrist and pulled as hard as he could. The older man cringed in pain as he finally let go of the railing, putting his trust in the teenager.

Foss was heavy, much heavier than Declan had imagined he would be, but he couldn't give up on him now. Mind over matter, he told himself. That always worked for Kyle. Maybe, just maybe, if he believed he could lift Foss, then he could do it.

* * *

On the other side of the Space Needle, Adam and Kyle did their best to stay out of sight. Kyle glanced around the wall, trying to figure out where Grace Kingsley had gone.

"Kyle." Adam spoke with a calm voice.

Kyle didn't look at him. "I can't see her anywhere. I can't hear her heartbeat either. She knows how to keep herself hidden."

"Kyle, look at me."

Kyle finally turned to face him. There was a flash of lightning behind them, but Adam seemed undaunted.

He continued. "There's no escape for me now, but you can still save yourself. You can manage the jump back to the ground below. I won't let you stay in danger just to keep me safe."

"And what about Declan? And Foss? I'm not leaving them, and I'm not leaving you. I'm the only one who can stop her."

"You don't know if you can."

"I have to try." Kyle stepped out into the open, looking for any sign of her. "I have to find her and stop her."

Adam cautiously stepped back as Kyle glanced around. A deep rumbling of thunder echoed through the city.

"Hello Adam." Her voice came from behind him.

He turned around to find himself staring into the menacing eyes of Grace Kingsley. "What do you want from me?"

"Adam, you already know the answer to that."

With that, she began to focus on him, intent on bursting the blood vessels in his brain. Adam fell to the floor and cringed in pain as he waited for it all to end, but the end never came. The pain was excruciating, but his arteries remained intact. Something was preventing her from finishing the job.

"Grace, stop!" Kyle stepped forward.

He focused on Adam the best he could, struggling to manipulate the blood flow through Adam's brain. He pushed opposite the direction that Grace pushed, hoping to reverse her attack. Kyle focused all his energy on keeping his mentor alive.

"Back off, Kyle. I need to finish this."

"No. I can't let you do this."

Kyle wished he had the chance to step up to Grace and push her out of the way, but everything he had was focused on keeping Adam alive. If he stopped for even a second, the older man could die instantly from a hemorrhage.

* * *

There had been dozens of Latnok henchmen on the city block below, but now they faced a problem. Someone had given the police a tip about their activities, and several cop cars had arrived on the scene. After a brief shootout, the henchmen surrendered, unable to take on the whole Seattle police department.

As arrests were made, one car managed to sneak past amidst all the chaos. Nate's car sped onto the block and screeched to a stop in the parking lot of the Space Needle. A dark haired girl got out, followed by a blond girl and a young man in a suit.

"Kyle's up there?" asked Amanda.

Jessi nodded as she looked up at the top. "Yes. And he's in danger."

"Well what are you doing down here?" Nate pointed to the building at the base of the structure. "Get to the elevator so you can get up there and help him!"

"The elevator's not working. The entire building's electrical system has been destroyed."

Nate gave her a confused look. "How do you know that?"

"Never mind how," Amanda frantically said. "Is there another way up there?"

As Amanda spoke, there was another flash of lightning and rumbling of thunder. They heard the sound of rain against metal as large raindrops began to fall. As Jessi held out her hand to feel the oncoming downpour, a smirk spread across her face.

"There's another way."

With that, Jessi leapt into the air.

* * *

On the top of the tower, the telekinetic duel over Adam continued. As hard as Kyle pushed, Grace just pushed harder, even as her nose began to bleed.

_I put every ounce of energy I had into saving Adam, but somehow, it still wasn't enough, and I was tiring quickly. Somehow Grace's hate for Adam was even stronger than my desire to protect him, and she wouldn't stop even if it meant destroying herself in the process._

"You could wind up killing all three of us!" Kyle tried to reason with her. "Then what would be the point of all of this? What would be left of Latnok then?"

"I have to do this!"

Kyle cringed as bright flashes went through his head. The strain was getting to him, but he couldn't give up now. There had to be something he could say to get her to spare Adam's life.

"Grace, you're better than this. I know how much you care about your family. The man you're killing is my father. And if you really are my mother, if you really believe that you and I are family, then don't do this. Don't destroy what's left of this family. Not after what happened to Cassidy."

Grace shook her head as blood continued to drip from her nose. "I'm sorry Kyle. It's too late now. This must be done."

All of a sudden, Grace was thrown through the air and into the wall behind her. As her body hit the wall with a thud, her grip on Adam was broken. Kyle turned to see Jessi, standing before them in the rain, with an angry glare.

Grace couldn't believe her eyes. "S… Sarah?"

Jessi shook her head. "No. Cassidy killed my mother. And I suppose it would be fitting if I killed his."

Jessi launched another telekinetic blow, but Grace countered with a surprisingly strong attack of her own. The attacks met with a mighty shockwave and Jessi was pushed back, although she did not back down.

"Jessi. That was your name. I remember now. I learned a lot of things by being around Kyle. You can't stop me either."

Jessi gritted her teeth as she pushed back. "Back away!"

"Jessi!" She turned to see Kyle extending his hand to her. "Take my hand!"

Jessi nodded and took his hand in hers. Individually, Kyle and Jessi were powerful, but together their abilities were amplified to an incredible level. Together, they faced Grace Kingsley, overwhelming her attack with an unstoppable telekinetic wave. Grace fell to her knees, but still fought back, continuing her own attack.

* * *

All over the city, lights flickered on and off. The ground shook and windows rattled. Television channels became static as something powerful interfered with their signal.

Below the Space needle, dozens of cops covered the area as the police tried to control the situation. Someone was trying to stay in contact with a nearby helicopter pilot, who refused to go any closer to the tower, for fear of the instruments failing in the strange energy disturbance.

The Trager family had arrived with the police and they gazed up at the tower as they tried to keep themselves sheltered from the rain.

Lori looked to Nicole. "Declan said he'd be with Kyle. And I haven't heard back from him since. Do you think he's up there too?"

Nicole didn't answer, she just held Lori in her arms.

Another shockwave echoed from the top of the tower. Lori held onto Nicole even tighter than before. A few yards away, Amanda held onto Nate, as the two of them also looked up at the tower, unsure of what would happen.

* * *

_Grace Kingsley was continuing to fight back. She knew that she couldn't win against Jessi and me, but for some reason she wouldn't stop lashing at us with her mind. Her nose was bleeding more than before, and I knew that she wouldn't be able to survive this for much longer._

Jessi glared at Grace, ready to finish her off with a final blow, but when she turned to Kyle, he shook his head. As much as she wanted to kill Grace, Jessi slowly nodded and let Kyle say what he needed to.

"Grace, you need to stop this now. Your body is failing. If you keep pushing any longer, the strain will kill you."

"What are you waiting for?" Grace stared him in the eye. "You have me. Go ahead and finish me."

"I won't do that. That's not who I am. I won't kill you and I won't let you kill yourself either. Grace, it doesn't have to end this way."

Grace shook her head. "It's too late for me, Kyle."

"Grace, no!"

Grace's attack finally ended as she collapsed to the ground. Her heart wasn't beating anymore, and this time it wasn't a trick to hide herself. Grace Kingsley was dead.

All was silent but the sound of falling rain as Kyle and Jessi stood over Grace's lifeless body. Adam, who had managed to bring himself back to his feet, walked over to join them.

Kyle turned to him. "There's been too much damage to her brain. I can't revive her. There's nothing I can do to save her."

Adam nodded and put his hand on Kyle's shoulder. "You did what you could."

"You should get going," came the voice of another man.

They turned around to see that Tom Foss and Declan had joined them. The older man stepped forwards.

"The police will have a helicopter here any minute. Kyle, Jessi, the two of you shouldn't be here when it arrives. You should jump back to the ground while you can."

Kyle nodded. "We'll go."


	20. Epilogue: The Constant

Car alarms echoed from every corner of the lot. Streetlights had blown up. For a minute, there had been an eerie rumbling sound coming from the top of the Space Needle, a rumbling that wasn't thunder. Now, that sound was gone. Even the rain seemed to be letting up a little.

Nicole stood with her family staring up the tower, paralyzed with fear. For all she knew, Kyle was still up there.

"Nicole." She felt a hand on her shoulder.

She turned around to see Kyle looking back at her, and behind him, Jessi. "Kyle!" Nicole closed her eyes and hugged her son. "What happened?"

"It's over." He hugged her back. "I'm safe. Everyone is safe. It's finally all over."

* * *

The next morning, Kyle sat on the couch of the Trager house. Although he wasn't used to being tired, Kyle could honestly admit that he felt worn out. It had been an exhausting month, and a quiet day at home felt well deserved. Jessi was around somewhere too, but he hadn't seen her yet.

On the television, a familiar reporter brought an update on Seattle's latest story.

"For those of you just joining us, the police have made 47 arrests in the wake of last night's incident. Several individuals blocked off traffic near the Space Needle and fired weapons at police officers when they arrived on the scene. Although many were involved, reports now indicate that they may have all been acting under the authority of one Grace Kingsley, who was found dead at the scene.

"Grace Kingsley's motivations still remain foggy at this time, but it appears that her organization was involved in a citywide hunt for the three men found on top of the Space Needle. Trespassing charges were dropped in light of the fact that they acted in self-defense, and all three individuals shall remain nameless. We are still awaiting the final autopsy, but at this moment, it appears Grace Kingsley died of natural causes. All of this coincided with yet another citywide energy surge and blackout, although police are still unable to confirm that these two events are connected.

"As strange as this story may be already, reports of even stranger events throughout the city have been coming in. Eyewitnesses claim to have seen cars driving over Union Lake and people jumping to the tops of buildings. Although the investigation continues, the official stance of the Police Department is that any superhuman or supernatural displays cannot be confirmed."

The doorbell rang. Although Kyle did not move from his spot, he already knew who it was. He heard Nicole walk over and answer it.

"Oh, hello. It's good to see you. I think Kyle's been expecting you."

He heard her take a few steps and then call to him. "Kyle! Someone's here to see you."

Kyle finally stood up and turned to see Adam Baylin standing next to her, supporting himself with a cane.

Nicole smiled at them. "I'll leave you alone for a bit."

As soon as she left, Kyle turned back to Adam. "You're walking with your cane again."

"It's only temporary. Yesterday's events were difficult to endure."

"But it's over now."

"Yes it is. I'd like to thank you, Kyle. Although I asked you not to protect me, I'm really grateful for what you did. You're surpassing me so quickly, sometimes I forget that I won't always need to be the one who looks after you."

"But what happens now? With you? With Latnok?"

"Latnok was acting under Grace Kingsley. In the end, they all saw what she had become, but they were too afraid of her to stand in her way. I've already met with the other senior members, and they want to accept me back into their ranks. Even Nate Harrison was glad to see me, and although he's had a shaky history, he shows much promise. I'm confident that with time, I can steer Latnok back in their original, noble direction."

"And the police won't trace yesterday's events back to them?"

"The police arrested some of the security personnel. They might talk. The police won't find anything though. The headquarters has already been moved to a more secure location."

Kyle paused. "So it's true then. My life can finally return to normal."

Adam nodded. "You're free. You and Jessi can both enjoy living a normal life if that is what you choose." There was a pause. "Of course, you always have options. With the deaths of Cassidy and Grace Kingsley, a second spot is available among the senior members. No one would deny you a place there if you wanted it."

Kyle smiled. "I think I'll take a break from all of this, at least for a little while."

Adam nodded again. "Then that's what you'll do. In the meantime, continue to work with Jessi to expand your abilities and discover how you could change the world. And know that Latnok will be waiting for your leadership, if and when the time comes that you decide you want it."

As Adam stepped out, Kyle stepped forward one more time. "Will I still see you?"

Adam smiled. "Of course you will, Kyle."

With that, Adam left the Trager house, slowing walking with his cane. Kyle waited a minute before closing the door behind him.

"So, back to normal?"

Kyle turned around to see Jessi smiling at him with her eyebrows raised.

"Were you listening to us to the entire time?"

"What do you think?"

Kyle grinned and nodded. "Yes, back to normal, if there is even a normal for you and me."

Jessi stepped up to him. "So your life can finally get back to that constant you talked about?"

Kyle touched Jessi's face and gave her a kiss. Pulling back, he smiled at her again. "Yes. And this time, I know what it means."

* * *

**So that story wound up being longer than I had originally planned. I know these last few chapters took me longer than usual to write, but that's because I really don't have the time to write that I had before. I hope everyone liked it and I hope that effectively tied up all the loose ends and provided some closure that we didn't get after the Season 3 finale.**


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